Her Father Thinks That Niqaab Is
Mustahabb And Tells Her Not To Wear It, But She Thinks
It Is Obligatory - Insulting Her Faith
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
A girl wants to wear niqab, has read the
evidence, and believes it to be fardh but her father,
who is very religious and practicing, feels that niqab
is mustahabb (he has studied all the evidence and
based his opinion on this. For his own reasons,
perhaps he worries for her safety or doubts her
intentions as being sincere, he forbids her from
wearing niqab. He does, however, allow that she can
wear niqab when she completes her memorization of
Surah Baqarah (as he feels that this will prove her
sincere), but she worries that this is too long and
feels she is sinning by not wearing it. She has tried
to demonstrate to her father that she is sincere, but
it has not been enough. She does not disobey him
because she worries for his health, he has heart
issues that make him very ill under any stress and her
wearing it against his will would cause him to fall
sick. When she tries to bring this up to other women,
they feel she is insulting them by implying that they
are sinning by not covering their faces, though she
does not judge them and tells them she is not trying
to force her opinion on any of them and they do not
understand because they all feel it is sunnah. What
should she do? And because her father believes it is
simply sunnah and not fardh, is he obtaining sin from
preventing her? Is it haraam for him to do this? And
can you give me som daleel for this?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is obligatory for a woman to cover her face in
front of non-mahrams according to the more correct of
the two scholarly opinions, because of a great deal of
evidence that has been explained in the answer to
question no. 11774.
Secondly:
It is not permissible for a girl to obey her father or
mother by not covering her face, because there is no
obedience to any created being if it involves
disobedience towards the Creator.
Similarly, it is not permissible for a father to tell
his daughter to uncover her face, even if he thinks
that niqaab is mustahabb, so long as she is convinced
that it is obligatory, because she is obliged to do
what she knows and is convinced of, and she will be
asked about that on the Day of Resurrection. A person
will not move on, on the Day of Resurrection, until he
is asked about his knowledge and what he did with it.
She will not be asked about her father's opinion and
what he believed. If she does not wear niqaab, then
she is disobeying her Lord, so what good will obeying
her father do her in that case?
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "There is no obedience if it involves
disobedience towards Allaah; obedience is only in that
which is right and proper." Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(7257) and Muslim (1840).
Thirdly:
If we assume that it is mustahabb and not waajib for a
Muslim woman to cover her face before non-mahram men,
neither the father nor anyone else has any right to
tell her to uncover her face, because by doing so he
is going against the ruling and command of Allaah. How
can a Muslim man allow himself to hear the command of
Allaah and His Messenger then issue instructions to
the contrary, and tell someone not to do what Allaah
and His Messenger have enjoined? Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah
and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they
should have any option in their decision"
[al-Ahzaab 33:36]
"And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad's)
commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts
of worship, statements) (among the sects) beware, lest
some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions,
earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant) should
befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them"
[al-Noor 24:63]
The matter is more serious than whether the niqaab is
obligatory or mustahabb; the one who forbids what is
enjoined by Allaah and His Messenger must re-examine
his faith.
Just imagine, O you who enjoins something that goes
against the command of the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), if the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told your
daughter to cover her face when you were sitting
there, as something that is mustahabb as you believe,
and not as something obligatory. Would you go against
the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) or would you tell her to hear and
obey?
No believer has any choice but to hear and obey, as
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"The only saying of the faithful believers, when they
are called to Allaah (His Words, the Qur'aan) and His
Messenger (Peace And Blessings Of Allaah Be Upon Him),
to judge between them, is that they say: "We hear and
we obey." And such are the successful (who will live
forever in Paradise)"
[al-Noor 24:51]
What is the difference between the Sunnah of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
that is heard directly and the Sunnah that has been
transmitted to us via trustworthy men and proven
reports?
Why would we obey him in the first case and disobey
him in the second?
Fourthly:
If the father fears that his daughter may be harassed
if she wears niqaab, and this is a well-founded fear
for obvious reasons, such as the Muslim woman living
in a place where women who wear niqaab are harassed,
there is nothing wrong with him telling her not to
wear the niqaab, and in that case she should obey him
so as to ward off harm. But if his fear stems from
paranoia and worries that are not based on reality,
then it is not permissible for the girl to obey him by
not wearing niqaab in that case.
Fifthly:
The girl should try to advise her father and convince
him that she has the freedom to choose the opinion
that she believes to be correct, whether that is by
finding out the evidence for it or by following
scholars whom she trusts, and it is not permissible
for her, according to sharee'ah, to forsake this
opinion because it is not in accordance with her
father's view. Similarly, it is not permissible for
him to make her follow his view, and by not allowing
her to wear niqaab he is causing her to fall into sin
and disobedience, whether that is by not wearing it
once, twice or more. Every time she goes out in front
of non-mahrams with her face uncovered, she is sinning
thereby.
Perhaps she can seek the help of people who can
convince her father about that.
Perhaps it is clear from this answer that this issue
is not about convincing her father that wearing niqaab
is obligatory. That may or may not be achieved, based
on how clear the evidence is and the means used to
convince him. Rather the issue that must be focused on
is that the girl is not obliged to follow her father's
opinion and it is not permissible for her to forsake
what she is convinced of for the sake of his opinion,
and it is not permissible for him to make her follow
his opinion. There is no point in making her fall into
sin until she has memorized Soorat al-Baqarah, or
until he is certain of the sincerity of her
intentions, for she is sinning every time she goes out
without niqaab, as stated above.
If the father understands this, and lets her do what
she wants, this is what is wanted. If he persists in
not allowing her, then the basic principle is that she
should not obey him, as stated above. But if she is
afraid that he may become sick because of her going
against his wishes, then she may uncover her face when
she is with him, and cover it when she goes out on her
own, without telling him about that.
We ask Allaah to help her and make her steadfast.
And Allaah knows best.
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