Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

During a certain period of hajj allah has forbidden women to cover thier face so that no cloth can touch thier face . but recently i have heard that women from our subcontinent have given a fatwa that you can wear a cap and put a cloth on that and if the veil touches the face give some khaffara on that to compensate for the cloth touching the face . they say that people from around the world come to pray hajj and there a lot of bad men there who see thier face . what does the holy quran say about this . 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Women uncover face during hajj

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Prophet (saws) said: "A pilgrim woman must neither cover her face nor wear gloves."

Related by Bukhari and Ahmad.

It is absolutely against the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) that a woman pilgrim intentionally covers her face permanently when in the state of ‘ihraam’ , and intends to give a ‘kaffarah’ or atonement for her disobedience of the command of Allah and His Messenger (saws)!

If a pilgrim woman fears that her beauty might attract or tempt someone, she may veil herself by using an umbrella or stay behind a screen between the men and herself; but to intentionally wear a veil that covers her face with the intention to pay the atonement later is absolutely incorrect and against the spirit of the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan