Of all the parts of a woman’s dress, the face veil is the one her daily life keeps testing. The questions are practical ones. How thick must the covering over her face be? What about the niqab whose eyeholes have grown wide? Does the veil stay on in the Sacred Precincts, in ihram, in a car, in front of her husband’s brother? And what of her hands?
The answers below are summaries of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s answers in Part 2 of A Treatise on Hijab & A Compilation of Questions Pertaining to Family Matters, where he takes up the veil as women actually wear it: its layers, its forms, and the places and people before whom it is worn. The evidence section is drawn from Four Essays on the Obligation of Veiling, above all the fourth treatise, Shaykh Zayd al-Madkhalee’s The Obligation of Veiling the Hands and Face, with the proofs of Imam Ibn Baz and Shaykh al-Fawzan beside it. A third book is named where its ruling stands: the Hajj and Umrah chapter of Shaykh al-Fawzan’s Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women.
The books this article rests on hold the face covered as an obligation; Shaykh al-Albani’s differing framing, and the difference itself, are stated in The Conditions of the Muslim Woman’s Dress. This article presents the practice of the veil from the books that teach it.
The Evidence and the Limit
Shaykh Zayd al-Madkhalee opens his treatise with its conclusion:
“A woman uncovering her face and hands in front of male-strangers is forbidden and not permissible.”
And he rests it on textual, logical, and customary evidences. His first textual proof is the word of Allah:
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women to cast their jalaabeeb (pl. of jilbaab) over themselves. That will be better, that they should be known so as not to be bothered.”
(Qur’an 33:59)
Muhammad bin Sireen asked ‘Ubaydah as-Salmaanee about this verse, and ‘Ubaydah covered his face and exposed only his left eye. Ibn al-Jawzee explained the verse to mean
“that they must cover their heads and faces so that they may be known as free women.”
And as-Suddee said of the woman: she should cover one of her eyes, her forehead, and the rest of her face, except one eye.
Imam Ibn Baz argues from the same verse in the first treatise. The jilbab, he explains, is a garment a woman places over her head and body in order to veil herself, and Allah commanded the women to cast it over their hair, their faces, and the rest of their bodies. He reports from Ibn ‘Abbaas, through ‘Alee bin Abee Talhah, that Allah commanded the believing women, when they go out of their homes for a necessity,
“to cover their faces by placing their jalaabeeb over their heads, and only expose one eye.”
And on the verse of the elderly women who may lay aside their outer garments (Qur’an 24:60), he draws the understood meaning: a woman who displays her adornment is not permitted to remove her garment from covering her face and her hands.
On the verse of the khimaar (Qur’an 24:31), “and to draw their veils over their bosoms,” Shaykh al-Fawzan explains that what is apparent of a woman’s adornment is her outer garment, and that the khimaar a woman places over her head is commanded to be drawn down over her throat and chest. “If a woman was ordered to cover her throat,” he says, “then the face is also to be covered for all the more reason,” since a khimaar drawn from the head down over the chest falls over the face as well. Shaykh al-Madkhalee adds the practice of the first women. ‘Aa’ishah covered her face with her khimaar when she heard the voice of Safwaan bin Mu’attal, who had known her face only before the hijab was obligated. And ‘Aa’ishah reported of the women in ihram with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: when horsemen came near,
“one of us would let her jilbaab fall down from the top of her head over her face. When they had passed by, we would uncover (our faces) again.”
He also cites the Prophet’s ﷺ words, reported by at-Tirmidhee from Ibn Mas’ood: “The woman is ‘awrah,” and the saying of Imam Ahmad: “A woman’s fingernail is ‘awrah (i.e. must be covered). So when she goes out from her home, she must not reveal any part of herself.”
Questions and Answers
How many layers should the face covering have?
The Shaykh was asked this directly, since the face coverings women wear consist of a number of layers. His answer measures the veil by what it does, not by its count. It is incumbent on a woman to cover her face from unrelated men in a manner that does not show her skin, whether that takes one layer, two layers, or more. If the veil is thick and the skin cannot be seen through it, one layer is sufficient. If it is not sufficient, she adds a second, a third, or a fourth. If the covering shows the skin’s colour, as the veils of some women do, it is not sufficient:
“The point is not for a woman to place something over her face.”
“The point is for her to cover her face, so that it may not be seen by men who are not related to her.”
He adds a warning about example: a woman who goes out revealing her face, or in a manner practically the same as revealing it, will be followed by other women, then others, until it becomes widespread, and he cites the Prophet’s ﷺ words that whoever sets an evil precedent in Islam bears its burden and the burden of those who act on it after him (Muslim).
What about the niqab with wide eyeholes?
The question put to the Shaykh described what the niqab had become in his time. At first nothing of the face could be seen except the eyes. Then the eyeholes began to widen, little by little, until part of the face could be seen along with the eyes, which attracts fitnah, especially since many women apply kohl to their eyes when they wear it. His answer holds two things together. The niqab itself was the known custom of the women in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and the proof is his ﷺ prohibition of it for the woman in ihram, “She should not wear the niqab” (al-Bukhari), for there would be no point prohibiting what women did not wear. But as it is worn now, he does not permit it.
“In our time, we do not rule it to be permissible; on the contrary, we consider that it is forbidden.”
Because the widened eyeholes have made it a means of exposing part of the face. A woman should fear her Lord in this matter and avoid wearing the niqab in that form, because it opens a door to wickedness that cannot be closed once it has been opened. The covering that replaces it is the veil of the previous answer: cloth over the whole face that does not show the skin.
Must she keep her face covered in the Sacred Precincts, and in ihram?
Many women had heard that a woman may reveal her face while performing ‘Umrah, and the Shaykh was asked for the definitive ruling. He gives it without qualification: In the presence of unrelated men it is binding on her to cover her face, because the face is ‘awrah, with evidences from the Book of Allah, the Sunnah, and the correct opinion of the scholars, and because of the fitnah that revealing it entails. He warns her not to be misled by the shameless conduct of some women who remove the hijab and walk in the markets as if they were in their own houses, and he cites the Prophet’s ﷺ words:
“The definitive ruling is that it is not permissible for a woman to reveal her face, whether in the Sacred masjid, in markets, or in other masajid.”
“After me I have not left any fitnah (affliction) more harmful to men than women.”
(agreed upon). As for ihram itself, the ruling is precise. A woman in ihram for Hajj or ‘Umrah uncovers her face in the House and in the tents, as is legislated for her state. But if unrelated men are around her, she covers it, whether she is in the masjid or anywhere else. This is the very practice ‘Aa’ishah described of the women who let their jilbabs fall over their faces when the horsemen drew near.
Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan sets out what she does with the veil itself at that point, in his book Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women:
“At the time of making the Niyyah (intention) for Ihraam, the woman takes off her Burqa and her Niqaab if she happens to be wearing them before the Ihraam.”
His proof is the same hadith the Shaykh cites above:
“This is proved by the statement of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: ‘The female muhrim should not wear the Niqaab.’ Narrated by Bukhaari.”
And the covering she uses instead, in his words:
“She takes off whatever she has on her hands like her gloves if she was wearing them before the Ihraam. She should cover her face with something other than the Niqaab or Burqa by placing her head cover or a cloth when she is in sight of men who are not her mahrams. Also, she should cover her hands without using gloves by wrapping them with some form of cloth because the face and the hands are among the parts of her body that must be hidden from men during Ihraam and outside Ihraam.”
And he closes the same discussion with the forms she must not use, and with what raises the cloth off her face:
“So the Muslim sister in the state of Ihraam should be aware that it is not permissible to cover her face and hands with things tailored to fit their shapes, in particular the Niqaab and gloves. She should also know that it is obligatory for her to conceal her face and hands from men who are not her mahrams with a Khimaar, cloth or similar things, and that there is no proof to place anything which raises the cover from the face like a piece of wood or a turban, or anything else.”
Does she cover her face in prayer?
Prayer is the one place where the veil comes off the face, and Shaykh al-Fawzan takes it up in the Salaat chapter of the same book. A woman’s whole body is covered in the prayer except her face, when she is among her mahrams [the men she may never marry, such as her father, her brothers, and her uncles]. The book gives the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah, that the prayer of a woman who has reached the age of menstruation is not accepted unless she is wearing a khimaar [a head covering that also covers the neck and chest], and the hadeeth of Umm Salamah on praying in a long chemise. Where no stranger would see her, the face may be uncovered:
“By the consensus of the Scholars, it is permissible for her to uncover her face where no strangers will see her.”
But where other men would see her, she covers:
“If she is in a place where other men would see her then she must cover herself fully, as she would cover herself outside of prayer.”
May she uncover her face in the car?
Female teachers and students were uncovering their faces once inside the bus or car, excusing it on the ground that no one could see them. The Shaykh answers that it is unlawful for a woman to uncover her face when men are looking at her, whether she is a teacher or a student, riding in a car or walking on foot in the market. The car is judged by whether she can actually be seen. If she is in a car, cannot be seen behind the glass, and there is a screen between her and the driver, there is no sin on her for uncovering her face, because she is then like a woman alone in her room. But if the glass is transparent so that those outside can see through it, or there is no barrier between her and the driver, it is not permissible, because the driver and the men in the market are not to see her. He adds that hiring a driver is not itself unlawful, but it is incumbent on the driver to order the women to cover their faces, and if they refuse, to place curtains in the vehicle or use opaque glass between him and them.
Does she cover her face before her husband’s brother?
Yes. In his answer about a wife left alone in a house with her husband’s brother, the Shaykh turns to the face itself: revealing the face is unlawful, and it is not permissible for a woman to show her face to her husband’s brother, “because he is not of her kin, and so, he occupies precisely the same position as an unrelated person with regard to her.” Kinship by marriage does not make a man a mahram. Before her husband’s brother, her veil is worn as it is worn before any other unrelated man.
The pressure on this ruling is often a husband who permits it, or directs it. Shaykh Ibn Jibreen answers that case in Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women: a husband allows his wife to uncover her face before his male relative who visits, and allows the relative’s wife to sit uncovered with him:
“It is not allowed for you to obey your husband in uncovering your face in the presence of his relatives, even if they are his full brothers. They are not mahram. Uncovering the face is one of the causes of temptation. It is also not allowed for the wife of his relative to obey him in uncovering her face in front of your husband for the same reasons.”
What if she is forced to remove her hijab?
The Shaykh was asked about women in some countries who are forced to remove the hijab, in particular the head covering, and who face punishment if they refuse, such as being discharged from work or expelled from school. He frames it as a trial, from the opening of Soorah al-‘Ankaboot (29:1-3): people are not left on their claim of belief, untried:
“In my opinion, Muslim women in these countries must refuse to obey this detestable order made by the authorities, because obedience to such a detestable order made by those in authority is rejected.”
His reasoning runs through the verse of obedience (Qur’an 4:59). Allah commands obedience to Himself and to His Messenger, and the verb “obey” is not repeated for those in authority, so obedience to them is subordinate to obedience to Allah and His Messenger. For the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There can be no obedience to any creature in disobedience to the Creator.”
(narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim). Whatever harm follows her refusal, she is to bear it patiently and seek help from Allah. And the Shaykh closes with where the coercion actually bites:
“But, I do not think that this coercion is forced on a woman, except when she goes out of her house. But, if she is in her house, she will not be subjected to this coercion. So, it is possible for her to remain in her house, so she can escape this order.”
Studying that entails disobedience is not permitted either. What she needs to learn, to practise her religion and carry out her role in this life, is sufficient for her, and in most cases she can learn it in her house.
What about her hands, and gloves?
The Shaykh was asked whether it is unlawful for a woman to reveal her hand. He answers that it is commonly held in Hanbali jurisprudence that a woman’s hands are like her face: it is not permissible for her to reveal them to unrelated men, and it appears that covering the hands was the practice of the women in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. The question put to him about gloves was of a woman wearing socks on her hands, so her hands would not be seen while she speaks to men in the market. His answer sets the ruling whole:
“The wearing of that which screens the hands from unrelated men, known as gloves, is a good thing and women should wear them in order for her hands to not be seen. It could well be that the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: ‘The woman in a state of ihram should not wear a niqab and should not wear gloves,’ (Al-Bukhari) indicates that it was their custom to wear gloves. It is more modest for a woman and safer from fitnah. But, the gloves must not be beautiful, so that they attract the attention of men.”
And he states the conclusion of the whole matter of the face and hands together:
“But the truth, which is confirmed by the evidences and is necessitated by logical thinking and the traditions, is that she must cover her face, because the face is the place of fitnah and of desire. No one doubts that the first thing that men look for in a woman is facial beauty, to the exclusion of the rest of her body.”
Key Lessons
- A face covering is judged by what it does. One thick layer that hides the skin is sufficient; layer upon layer that still shows the skin’s colour is not a covering at all.
- The niqab was the custom of the women in the Prophet’s ﷺ time, but the Shaykh forbids the form it has taken in his time, with eyeholes widened until part of the face shows. What is worn instead is a veil that covers the whole face without showing the skin.
- The veil is not lifted by place. In the Sacred masjid, the markets, and other masajid, the face stays covered before unrelated men; in ihram she uncovers in the House and the tents, and covers again when unrelated men are near.
- Being inside a car changes nothing by itself. She is judged by whether she can be seen: unseen behind a screen, she is as a woman alone in her room; visible through the glass or to the driver, she covers.
- Her husband’s brother is not her mahram. With regard to her face he stands exactly where an unrelated man stands.
- Her hands are treated like her face in the Shaykh’s answers. Gloves are a good and safer covering for them, on one condition: that the gloves themselves are not beautiful enough to draw men’s attention.
References
A Treatise on Hijab & A Compilation of Questions Pertaining to Family Matters, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Darussalam, 2011, translated by Sameh Strauch: Part 2 answers at printed pp. 62-63, 65-66, 72-76, 84-85, 87-89 and 92.
Four Essays on the Obligation of Veiling, by Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen, al-Fawzan, and Zayd al-Madkhalee, Al-Ibaanah, Third Edition, 2008: Ibn Baz, printed pp. 13-14; al-Fawzan, printed p. 63; al-Madkhalee, printed pp. 77-82.
Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Darussalam, Second Edition, June 2003, ISBN 9960-347-29-5, translated by Burhan Loqueman: Salaat chapter, item 2, printed pp. 61-63 (her covering in prayer, and covering fully where men would see her); Hajj and Umrah chapter, item 6, printed pp. 91-92 (taking off the burqa, niqab, and gloves at ihram, and covering the face with a cloth and the hands by wrapping them, in sight of non-mahram men), and printed p. 93 (the fitted niqaab and gloves, and the props placed under the cloth).
Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women, compiled by Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz al-Musnad, Darussalam, First Edition, 1996, translated by Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo: Q.262, printed p. 283 (a husband’s permission does not lift the covering before his relatives).
The Dress Code for the Muslim Woman in the Book and the Sunnah, Imam Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, Dar as-Sunnah Publishers: printed p. 23. My copy is an image scan; the page was read from the page image.
Further Reading
- The Hijab and Niqab: the obligation and its evidences
- The Conditions of the Muslim Woman’s Dress: the conditions the garment must meet, and the difference on the face and hands
- The Dangers of Tabarruj: display itself, and Ibn Baz’s essay in full
- Seclusion and Mixing: The Driver, the Workplace, the School: being alone and travelling with unrelated men; the driver at length
- Hijab and Modesty: the doorway for the whole subject
- The Prayer (Salah): the prayer’s own rulings, and the covering in prayer
Verified on 2026-10-26 against the books listed above.