Clarity...

Concerning the Hadeeth of Asma' Regarding Hijaab

Question: In a Hadeeth, Allaah's Messenger (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) ordered that a woman who reaches puberty is forbidden from showing her hands and face, and that is the Hijaab. Is there any Hadeeth which indicate that covering the face and hands is also compulsory?

Answer: In his Sunan, Abu Dawud recorded this Hadeeth in the chapter "What a Woman May Show Of Her Beauty." He said, "Ya'qub bin Ka'b Al-Antaki and Mu'mmal bin Al-Fadhl Al-Harani narrated to us, they said; Al-Walid narrated to us from Sa'id bin Bashir, from Qatadah, from Khalid, (Ya'qub said: 'Ibn Durayk') from 'Aishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, that Asma' bint Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with her, entered upon the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and she was wearing a very thin garment. The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) turned away and said, يا أسماء إن المرأة إذ بلغت المحيض لم تصلح أن يري منها إلا هذا وهذا وأشار إلى وجهه وكفيه "O Asma'! Indeed when a woman begins to menstruate, it is not correct to see from her except this and this." (Abu Dawud no. 4104) And he pointed to his face and hands." The Hadeeth is Mursal[1] because Khalid bin Durayk never met 'Aishah, may Allaah be pleased with her. Also, Sa'id bin Bashir Al-Azdi — or Al-Basri as he was originally from Al-Basrah — has been graded trustworthy by some of the scholars of Hadeeth, while Ahmad, Ibn Ma'in, Ibn Al-Madini, An-Nisa'i, Al-Hakim, and Abu Dawud all graded him weak. Muhammad bin 'Abdullah bin Numayr said about Sa'id: "His narrations of Hadeeths are Munkar (rejected), he is nothing," and: "He is not strong in Hadeeth, he narrates Munkar things from Qatadah." Ibn Hibban said, "His memory is poor and he makes enormous mistakes, narrating from Qatadah things that others do not." As-Saji said: "He narrated some Munkar things from Qatadah." In this Hadeeth, he is narrating from Qatadah. Then, Qatadah is himself a Mudalis,[2] and he is narrating this Hadeeth from Khalid bin Durayk, while the chain also contains Al-Walid, who is, Ibn Muslim and he is a Mudalis, and his Tadlis is the same, and Qatadah is above him in the chain. So with all of this, it is clear that this Hadeeth is weak from many angles. And with Allaah is the facilitation to do what is right. May Allaah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his Companions. ____________________________ [1] A Mursal narration is one in which the link between the narrator and the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) is not certain. [2] A Mudalis is one who commits Tadlis. That is, narrating with wording that does not clearly convey whether he actually heard what he is narrating (say, "From" instead of "Narrated to us," or the like) or, distorting the name of the person he is narrating from so that it will not be obvious that he is narrating from someone whose narrations are disparaged. سنن أبي داود باب فيما تبدي المرأة من زينتها [ 4104 ] حدثنا يعقوب بن كعب الأنطاكي ومؤمل بن الفضل الحراني قالا ثنا الوليد عن سعيد بن بشير عن قتادة عن خالد قال يعقوب بن دريك عن عائشة رضى الله تعالى عنها أن أسماء بنت أبي بكر دخلت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعليها ثياب رقاق فأعرض عنها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال يا أسماء إن المرأة إذ بلغت المحيض لم تصلح أن يري منها إلا هذا وهذا وأشار إلى وجهه وكفيه قال أبو داود هذا مرسل خالد بن دريك لم يدرك عائشة رضى الله تعالى عنها

Permanent Committee for Research and Verdicts

Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 7, Pages 186-188, DARUSSALAM