Question:
Assalaamu Alaykum, my aunt asked the question if Niqaab was Fardh (obligatory) then why in Umrah and Hajj women are not allowed to cover their faces in Ihraam? Those who take Hijab and Niqaab both, they say it is obligatory to do both but other in group says if Niqaab was Fardh, then why in Ihraam it is told not to cover their faces. Please guide according to Quran and Sunnah.
Fatwa:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.
The prohibition for a woman in a state of Ihraam to wear Niqaab (a tied face covering) does not mean that the face of a woman is not an 'Awrah (parts of the body that must be covered in Islam), because the prohibition is in regard to wearing the Niqaab or any other face covering which is a form fitting cloth. Since a man [who is in a state of Ihraam] is prohibited from wearing form-fitting clothes, the woman [who is in a state of Ihraam] is also prohibited from wearing the Niqaab, which is a form-fitting cloth for the face, and from wearing the gloves which are form-fitting clothes for the hands, but she should cover her face with anything other than the Niqaab. She may draw her Khimaar from her head down over her face in the presence of marriageable men as 'Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to do. She, may Allah be pleased with her, said: “The riders (on camels and horses) used to pass by us while we were with the Prophet and when they get near to us, one of us (females) would draw down her Jilbaab (head covering) from her head over her face, and when they would have passed by us, we would pull it up.” [Abu Daawood].
This is evidence that a woman in a state of Ihraam should cover her face in the presence of marriageable men, therefore, it is not correct to provide evidence that the face of a woman is not an 'Awrah because a woman in a state of Ihraam is prohibited from wearing Niqaab.
Allah Knows best.
Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb