The Niqab Is Obligatory

1. Muhamamd said: All of the woman is awrah. a. Narrated Anas: "...and if one of the women of Paradise looked at the earth, she would fill the whole space between them (the earth and the heaven) with light, and would fill whatever is in between them, with perfume, and the veil of her face is better than the whole world and whatever is in it." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, Book 76, Hadith 572) 2. The Sahabah said:a. Abu Ubaidah Salmani said: "Jilbaab should fully cover the women's body, so that nothing appears but one eye with which she can see." (Tasfir al-Qurtubi) He also said that: "The women used to don their cloaks (Jilbaabs) over their heads in such a manner that only the eyes were revealed in order to see the road." (Hijab, pg. 9)b. Ibn Abbas himself said that the meaning of the verse to cover is the whole face but one eye.3. Aisha and other women said:a. Narrated Safiya bint Shaiba: `Aisha used to say: "When (the Verse): "They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms," was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered their faces with the cut pieces." (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 282)b. Narrated `Aisha: Allah's Messenger used to offer the Fajr prayer and some believing women covered with their veiling sheets used to attend the Fajr prayer with him and then they would return to their homes unrecognized. (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 368) c. Narrated Umm Salamah: When the verse "That they should cast their outer garments over their persons" was revealed, the women of Ansar came out as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments. (Abu Dawud, Book 33, Hadith 4090)d. Narrated Aisha: May Allah have mercy on the early immigrant women. When the verse "That they should draw their veils over their bosoms" was revealed, they tore their thick outer garments and made veils from them. (Abu Dawud, Book 33, Hadith 4091) e. Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Riders would pass us when we accompanied the Messenger of Allah while we were in the sacred state (wearing ihram). When they came by us, one of us would let down her outer garment from her head over her face, and when they had passed on, we would uncover our faces. (Abu Dawud, Book 10, Hadith 1829)f. Narrated Um `Atiya: We were ordered to bring out our menstruating women and veiled women in the religious gatherings and invocation of Muslims on the two `Id festivals. These menstruating women were to keep away from their Musalla. A woman asked, "O Allah's Messenger ' What about one who does not have a veil?" He said, "Let her share the veil of her companion." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 347) g. Aisha stated that in verse thirty and thirty-one, "What has been allowed to be shown is the hands, bangles and rings, but not the face." (Quoted by Shaikh Abdul A'la Maududi in the book Purdah P# 195 and in his Tafseer of Quran under the tafseer of Surah An Nur) 4. The early Muslims, Jurists and Tasfir:a. "Women must not display any part of their beauty and charms to strangers except what cannot possibly be concealed." (Ibn Kathir)b. Imam Muhammad bin Sirin "When I asked Ubaida bin Sufyan bin al-Harith the meaning of this verse about "Alaihinna" and how the jilbaab was to be worn, he demonstrated it to me by pulling a sheet of cloth over his head to cover his entire body, leaving the left eye uncovered. This was also the explanation of the word 'Alaihinna in this verse"(Commentary by Ibn Jarir and Ahkam-ul-Quran, Vol # 3, p.457 also in "hijaab wa Sufor" quoted by Shaikh AbdulAziz Bin Bazz under the chapter of his fatwaa on hijab on page #54)c. Three of the founders of today's mainstream Madhabs believed the niqab to be obligatory.5. The weakness of the hadeeth saying women can show their face and hands: a. There is no link between Aisha and Khalid bin Dareek. And in every chain of narrators Khalid bin Dareek is mentioned.b. In the narration Sa'eed bin Basheer appears, who is known by most of the Muhaditheen as being a weak narrator. This has been mentioned by Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal, An-Nasai, Ibn Madeeni and Ibn Ma'een. This is also why Imaam Bukhari and Muslim, the two most trusted sources of ahadeeth, did not accept this hadith to be in their books.c. Abu Dawud himself quoted the hadeeth as being Musal, meaning that it is a broken chain that does not lead up to the Sahabah.d. One last thing is that after the ayah for hijab was revealed, the women of the Sahabah wore a complete veil and covered their faces and hands. ConclusionWhen Muhammad says that all of the woman is awrah, and Aisha, the women of Ansar, the women of the Sahabah, the Companions of Muhammad, three founders of the four mainstream schools of thought (Madhabs) all say that covering the face is obligatory, how can you deny this clear fact?