The command of concealing ones satr has remained ever present in all Divine religions. In\u00a0fact, when Adam and Hawa \u2018alaihimassalaam were stripped of their clothing while still in\u00a0Jannah they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Jannah. Concealing ones satr is\u00a0part of the fitrah – primordial nature of humans and was an obligation right from the advent\u00a0of Islam. In contrast, the command of hijab did not exist in most Divine religions and in the\u00a0early era of Islam but was first revealed in the third or fifth year of Hijrah.<\/p>\n
Not only is the veiling of the face established in Islam, it is also based on concrete evidences. This has been the continuous practise of the ummah for the past fourteen centuries. As the great scholar of Al-Azhar, Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani has said,<\/p>\n
\u0648\u0644\u0645 \u062a\u0632\u0644 \u0639\u0627\u062f\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0633\u0627\u0621 \u0642\u062f\u064a\u0645\u0627 \u0648\u062d\u062f\u064a\u062b\u0627 \u064a\u0633\u062a\u0631\u0646 \u0648\u062c\u0648\u0647\u0647\u0646 \u0639\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062c\u0627\u0646\u0628<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt has continuously been the practice of women since time immemorial to cover their faces from strangers.\u201d<\/em>(Fath al-Bari 9\/324)<\/p>\n It is with great sadness that we note some confusion in the minds of certain\u00a0students and even some scholars, concerning the obligation of the niqab (veil)\u00a0according to the Hanafi madhab.\u00a0The Hanafi madhab expressly classifies covering the face as binding on women\u00a0and forbids the exposure of the face in the presence of ghair mahrams (strangers).<\/p>\n Rather\u00a0Imam al-Haramayn (d. 478 AH) said:\u00a0\u201cThere exists consensus of the Muslims on preventing\u00a0women from emerging with their faces uncovered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u0642\u0627\u0644 \u0625\u0645\u0627\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0631\u0645\u064a\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u062c\u0648\u064a\u0646\u064a (\u062a \u0664\u0667\u0668 \u0647): \u0627\u062a\u0641\u0642 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0633\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0646 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u0646\u0639 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0633\u0627\u0621 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u0631\u0648\u062c \u0633\u0627\u0641\u0631\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0648\u062c\u0648\u0647<\/p>\n