**‘Aishah** \[may Allah be pleased with her\]

>“…He \[Safwan bin Al-Mu'attal\] came to me and recognized me when he saw me, **as he had seen me before hijab was made obligatory for me**.” \[Sahih al-Bukhari 4141\]

It is reported on the authority of 'A'ishah that she said, 

>"The riders used to pass by us while we were in a state of ihram with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ .Whenever they came close to us, **each of us would let her jilbab fall from her head so that it covered her face**, then once they had passed us, we would uncover our faces." \[Musnad of Imam Ahmed and Abu Dawood\]

Muhammad bin Sirin said, 

> "I asked '**Ubaydah As-Salmani** about the Ayah: *"to draw their Jalabib over their bodies."* **He covered his face and head, with just his left eye showing**. "That will be better that they should be known so as not to be annoyed."

**Ibn al-Arabi** and **al-Qurtubi**, who were **Malikis**, held the view that niqab is **obligatory in times of fitnah** (like the time we are living in), but **mustahabb** when there is no fitnah.

**Imam al-Nawawi** and **al-Rafi‘i**, who were **Shafi'is**, held the view that niqab is **obligatory outside of prayer**.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said:

>“**Every part of a free woman is awrah, even her fingernail.**” 

So it is **wajib**.

**Ibn Abidin**, **al-Tumurtash**i, and **al-Hasfaki**, who were **Hanafis**, held the view that niqab is **obligatory outside prayer**.

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

>Asma, daughter of AbuBakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wearing thin clothes. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned his attention from her. He said: O Asma', when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to his face and hands. \[Sunan Abi Dawud 4104\]

Imaam Abu Dawud said about this hadith: 

>This is a mursal tradition (i.e. the narrator who transmitted it from 'Aishah is missing) Khalid b. Duraik did not see 'Aishah.

Shaykh Bin Baz commented on this hadith: 

* **Sa‘eed ibn Basheer** is weak according to the scholars; his narration cannot be relied upon due to poor memory and lack of precision. 
* **Qatada** is known to be a muddler in transmission (mudallis), did not explicitly state that he heard directly from Khalid ibn Duraik. 
* **Khalid ibn Duraik** did not directly meet ‘Aisha; his chain is disconnected (munqati‘), so he did not hear from her directly.

**Abu Hatim Ar-Razi**, a major hadith scholar, also pointed out this deficiency in the hadeeth

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said:

>In its chain of narrators is Sa'eed bin Basheer An-Nasri, a resident of Damascus, who was abandoned by Ibn Mahdi and **declared weak by Imam Ahmad, Ibn Ma'een, Ibnul Madeeni and An-Nasa'l**.

Ibn Taymiyyah also said that, if this hadith were authentic (which it is not), it would have referred to the early years of Islam, when women could reveal their hands and faces and speak to men. This opinion is also followed by Shaykh Bin Baz, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and other classical and contemporary scholars.

Taken from the books of Shaykh Salih ibn 'Uthaymeen and Salih al-Fawzan on Hijab, Tafsir ibn Kathir, and the fatawa of Imaam Bin Baz

Should Women Cover Their Faces?