The references should flow out from Quran and Hadith and personal opinions be left alone. Even if personal opinions are to be considered then most of the scholars of the four schools of thought believe that
face veil is not obligatory.
There is a good reason why the learned shaikhs don’t quote the Quran: IT DOESN’T SUPPORT THEIR POSITION!
The so-called "revelation" of hijab appears in Surah 24. The following is the Yusef Ali translation of the relevant verses [all emphases in passages from the Quran or ahadith are added by me]:
024.030
SAY TO THE BELIEVING MEN THAT THEY SHOULD LOWER THEIR GAZE AND GUARD THEIR MODESTY: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.
024.031
AND SAY TO THE BELIEVING WOMEN THAT THEY SHOULD LOWER THEIR GAZE AND GUARD THEIR MODESTY; THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DISPLAY THEIR BEAUTY AND ORNAMENTS EXCEPT WHAT (MUST ORDINARILY) APPEAR THEREOF; that THEY SHOULD DRAW THEIR VEILS OVER THEIR BOSOMS and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.
Here are two other translations of Quran 24:31:
PICKTHAL: 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.
SHAKIR: And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and LET THEM WEAR THEIR HEAD-COVERINGS OVER THEIR BOSOMS, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful.
Two things are noteworthy about Quran 24:30 and 31.
(1) In Quran 24:30, MEN are directed to "lower their gaze"! If face veils for women were MANDATORY why would this direction even be necessary?
(2) Quran 24:31 only tells women to cover "their BOSOMS." Nothing whatever is said about the the FACE.
While the Quran provides NO SUPPORT for mandatory niqab, the hadith literature is CONTRADICTORY on this subject.
Evidence for the obligation of niqab?
There are only a few references to veiling in the hadith and most of these actually refer to the
khimar, which is restricted linguistically to head covering. The covering of the face is only mentioned in a few hadith and never by the command of the Prophet Muhammad.
The main evidence from scholars who believe that niqab is obligatory comes from these verses of the Qur'an.
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Qur'an 33:59
This passage says nothing about covering the FACE - or even the HAIR!
One hadith that is used as evidence for this is:
Narrated 'Aisha (wife of Prophet Muhammad): The Messenger of God, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, 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.
Bukhari
This hadith has been dated some time after verse 33:59 was revealed. Proponents of the niqab say that this hadith shows that the women during the time of the Prophet were not recognisable and hence they must have worn niqab. It is a mere assumption or personal opinion.
However, other scholars have argued that their faces were unrecognisable because it was dark, not because they were covered up. Furthermore she refers to the early-morning prayer and not to any other. It would certainly make it more difficult to see who individuals were if they were dressed in cloaks before sunrise.
In addition, they have argued that the order 'cast their outer garments over their persons' has been misunderstood. They say that the word 'face' has not been indicated in the Arabic, and it would therefore be wrong to extend the meaning.
Other proponents of the niqab use this Qur'anic verse for evidence for the niqab.
...And when ye ask (the Prophet's wives) for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs.
Qur'an 33:53
The wives of the Prophet were indeed required to wear the niqab by this Qur'anic verse. This is because the special status they had meant they had to be kept clear from all gossip and slander. Scholars say that if the wives of the Prophet, as the best of feminine examples, were required to wear niqab, then the ruling falls on all women.
However, earlier on in the same chapter, the Qur'an also very clearly states that the Prophet's wives were not similar to other women.
O Wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the other women.
33:32
Most scholars are in agreement that the verse about the screen, or concealing of the face, is only obligatory on the wives of the Prophet. They say the verses are a clear indication that the wives of the Prophet are much more restricted in their movement due to their political position, and that their code of conduct does not constitute a code of conduct for women in general.
A look in the Hadith texts
From here on we can use the Quranic evidence to analyse the Hadith material available to us and judge if face veil is obligatory or not. Let us analyse them one by one.
Volume 8, Book 74, Number 247: (Sahih Bukhari)
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas: Al-Fadl bin 'Abbas rode behind the Prophet as his companion rider on the back portion of his she camel on the Day of Nahr (slaughtering of sacrifice, 10th Dhul-Hijja) and Al-Fadl was a handsome man. The Prophet stopped to give the people verdicts. In the meantime, a beautiful woman From the tribe of Khath'am came, asking the verdict of Allah's Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face (to the owner sides in order that he should not gaze at her. She said, "O Allah's Apostle! The obligation of Performing Hajj enjoined by Allah on His worshipers, has become due (compulsory) on my father who is an old man and who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Will it be sufficient that I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said, "Yes."
It is evident that the Prophet controlled the boy Al Fadhl's gaze, but didn't mention the fact that the woman was not covering her face. As a rule, anything that Prophet Muhammad stays silent about is tacit approval. This hadith would seem to indicate strongly that niqab is not obligatory.
Let's us look further
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Hadith # 282
Narrated Safiya bint Shaiba (raa) "Aisha (raa) 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."
The word FACE does not exist in the arabic version of this hadith. it reads "...cut their waist sheets at the edges and FAKHTAMARNABIHA" this word in arabic is derived from the word khimar, and it simply means "they put them as khimar". A khimar does not cover the face. we can prove this by using the following hadith: Abu Dawood Book 2, Hadith # 0641: Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin (raa) "Rasulullah (saww) said "Allah does not accept prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a veil." the word they translate as "veil" is in arabic khimar. And we all know that we are not allowed to pray with our faces covered; thus the khimar can not possibly cover the face if we are instructed to wear it when we pray.
Let us compare a similar Hadith in Abu Dawud
Abu Dawood Book 32, Hadith # 4091
Narrated Aa'ishah, Ummul Mu'minin (raa) "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.
Again the word face is missing. I also noticed that some sites do not stick only to niqab but also associate it with not driving, not leaving the home, not talking to any non-mahram man, not working, etc. etc. It seems almost like a whole movement, restricting women of many things which Allah has not restricted us from. Just an observation.
Let us explore further because certainly this might not be enough for some male chauvinists
Abu Dawood Book 10, Hadith # 1829
Narrated Aa'ishah, Ummul Mu'minin: (raa) who said, "The riders would pass us while we were with the Messenger of Allaah (saww). When they got close to us, we would draw our outer cloak from our heads over our faces. When they passed by, we would uncover our faces. Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah, Narrated 'Aa'ishah.
We already have understood from Quranic evidence that face veil is for the Prophet's (saww) family and not for the rest. Inspite of this we read that the faces were uncovered once the riders passed by. Thus face veil for them was obligatory when being approached by the rest. Allah knows best.
Let us explore further and remember this is the crunch time
Sahl ibn Sa’d (raa) said: “A woman came to the Messenger of Allaah (saww) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I came to give myself to you in marriage.’ So the Messenger of Allaah (saww) looked at her, he raised his gaze and stared at her, then he lowered his head. When the woman saw that he had not made any decision, she sat down. Then a man from among his Companions stood up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, if you don’t want to marry her, then marry her to me.’ …”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 7/19; Muslim, 4/143; al-Nisaa’i bi Sharh al-Suyooti, 6/113; al-Bayhaqi, 7/84).
It means marrying without looking at someone is not even Sunnah. Let us explore further if anyone has any doubt left
Abu Hurayrah (raa) said: “I was with the Prophet , and a man came to him and told him that he had married a woman of the Ansaar. The Messenger of Allaah (saww) said, ‘Have you looked at her?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Go and look at her, for there is something in the eyes of the Ansaar.’”
(Reported by Ahmad, 2/286, 299; Muslim, 4/142; al-Nisaa’i, 2/73).
Jaabir (raa) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (saww) said: “When any one of you proposes marriage to a woman, if he can look at that which will encourage him to go ahead and marry her, let him do so.”
(Reported by Abu Dawood and al-Haakim. Its isnaad is hasan, and there is corroborating evidence in the hadeeth of Muhammad ibn Muslimah. It was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan and al-Haakim. It was also reported by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah, and by Ahmad and al-Bazzaar from the hadeeth of Abu Humayd. Fath al-Baari, 9/181).
Business dealings, medical treatment, Hajj, court witness and in many other day to day affairs a woman has to have an uncovered face. If it was obligatory then she can never go to a court and complain about her being raped without being identified as the right person!
There might still be some gigs who would bring in some Hadith to bail them out of being branded as male chauvinists but I urge them to first read the criteria set by Quran and explained above as the Hadith will fit the criteria. Also please avoid presenting contradictory Hadith as it will only strengthen my conclusion.
