The Niqab Is Obligatory

Peace be on you, I will post only my arguments like you did and we leave rebuttals for next rounds.Arguments against "the niqab is obligatory" 1- Allah says in chapter Ennisaa Verse 59:"O you who believe! Obey Allâh and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allâh and His Messenger (SAW), if you believe in Allâh and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination. (59)"Here comes all the quranic verses that speak about women's garment :Quran /Chapter 24 Ennour: "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed(30)"Quran/chapter 33 : "And those who malign believing men and believing women undeservedly, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin. (58) O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that they may be recognised and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. (59) If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease, We verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your neighbours in it but a little while. (60) " Quran doesn't ask to cover the face explicitly.. And there is no Hadeeth where the prophet peace be upon him commands women to cover their faces, and my opponent is invited to find one. 2- some free Muslim women of the time of the prophet peace be upon him used to talk to stranger men including to the Prophet PBUH and never were asked to cover their faces although some were beautiful!Here are examples from authentic sunna: 2-1- Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d: 3A woman came to Allah's Messenger (PBUH) and said, "O Allah's Messenger! I have come to you to present myself to you (for marriage)." Allah's Messenger () glanced at her. He looked at her carefully and fixed his glance on her and then lowered his head. When the lady saw that he did not say anything, she sat down. A man from his companions got up and said, "O Allah's Messenger ()! If you are not in need of her, then marry her to me." The Prophet () said, "Have you got anything to offer." The man said, 'No, by Allah, O Allah's Messenger ()!" The Prophet () said (to him), "Go to your family and try to find something." So the man went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Messenger ()! I have not found anything." The Prophet said, "Go again and look for something, even if it were an iron ring." He went and returned, saying, "No, by Allah, O Allah's Messenger ()! I could not find even an iron ring, but this is my Izar (waist sheet).' He had no Rida (upper garment). He added, "I give half of it to her." Allah's Messenger () said "What will she do with your Izar? If you wear it, she will have nothing over herself thereof (will be naked); and if she wears it, then you will have nothing over yourself thereof ' So the man sat for a long period and then got up (to leave). When Allah's Messenger () saw him leaving, he ordered that he e called back. When he came, the Prophet () asked (him), "How much of the Qur'an do you know (by heart)?" The man replied, I know such Sura and such Sura and such Sura," naming the suras. The Prophet () said, "Can you recite it by heart?" He said, 'Yes." The Prophet () said, "Go I let you marry her for what you know of the Qur'an (as her Mahr).Sahih al-Bukhari 5126 The prophet peace be upon him glanced at her face, it's unprobable that he glanced at her burqa! and he was not the only stranger man there, there was also Sahl, the narrator and the companion who was interested to marry her at minimum.2-2-"Ibn 'Abbass said: 'A beautiful woman, from among the most beautiful of women, used to pray behind the Prophet (SAAW). Some of the people used to go to pray in the front row to ensure they would not be able to see her. Others would pray in the last row of the men, and they would look from underneath their armpits to see her." Because of this act, in regard to her, Allah revealed: "Verily, We know the eager among you to be in the front and verily We know the eager to be behind." (15:24). Narrated by Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Attayalisy, Baihaqi, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasai and others. It was judged authentic by Sheikh Al-Albaanee in his book, Silsilat Al-Ahaadeeth As-Saheehah #2472, where he quoted many scholars who judged it to be authentic. This woman was praying in the mosque behind the prophet peace be upon him, so obviously wearing the full Hijab, yet judged to be beautiful! Guess why . her face of course. yet she was not ordered to cover her face, nor was it a reason to separate the mosques in partitions to separate men from women! but the man or men who used to try to see her during the prayer were blamed in the famous verse. 2-3 It was narrated that Jabir said: " I attended the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (SAW) on the day of 'Eid. He started with the prayer before the Khutbah, with no Adhan and no Iqamah. When he finished the prayer, he stood leaning on Bilal, and he praised and glorified Allah (SWT) and exhorted the people, reminding them and urging them to obey Allah (SWT). Then he moved away and went to the women, and Bilal was with him. He commanded them to fear Allah (SWT) and exhorted them and reminded them. He praised and glorified Allah, then he urged them to obey Allah, then he said: 'Give charity, for most of you are the fuel of Hell.' A lowly woman with dark cheeks said: 'Why, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'You complain a great deal and are ungrateful to your husbands.' They started taking off their necklaces, earrings and rings, throwing them into Bilal's garment, giving them in charity." (Sahih) The narrator is a man who seems not to know who the woman is, but the woman is known cause this hadeeth was narrated by herself (Asmaa bint Zaid) too, so none can say she was a slave girl or an old woman, yet the prophet did not ask her to cover her face, and he wouldn't have missed it if it was compulsory.3- finally the interpretation of the second verse above was a subject of differing already from the time of the companions, and this shows that there were women not covering their face already then.The two bellow links are Arabic interpretations of the verse that point out the differing, and amongst the companions who explained the verse 59 of Chapter 33, that it means the free Muslim women needed to be differentiated in their way to dress from the slave women and women of the people of the scripture ( the Christians and Jews) and had to put another cloth above their shawls so that is covers their whole body, and firmly attach it on their forehead, was Abdullah Ibn Abbas the great companion of the messenger peace be upon him. and both parties agree that the goal of the verse was to distinguish between the free Muslim women and the rest of the women, so they do not get mistaken. http://quran.al-islam.com... http://quran.al-islam.com... Conclusion:Although a lot of women from the companions of the prophet did cover their face, still many other did not and this alone shows the Burqa is liked , but not compulsory in Islam. Now you can start with rebuttals. References : http://quranexplorer.com...http://sunnah.com...PS: in all the above, Burqa reffers to Niqab.