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What to Do With A Muslim Woman Who Denies Hijaab

Question

What to do if a Muslima denies that hair covering is obligatory? Is she murtadd then?

Answer

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  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

As for what should be done with her, it must be explained to her with evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah that it is incumbent on a Muslim woman to wear the Hijaab. Perhaps she was ignorant of this because of being a recent convert to Islam, or she was born Muslim but brought up in an environment where ignorance of the Sharee‘ah prevails. No one should hasten to declare her a disbeliever, given that we live in a time of prevailing ignorance and lack of (religious) knowledge. Therefore, a Muslim who is endowed with religious knowledge should strive to educate others and advise them wisely and gently instead of hastening to declare them disbelievers. It should be noted that judging a specific Muslim individual to be a disbeliever is to be referred to scholars in order to investigate the specific situation of that particular individual and ensure that all the conditions of Takfeer (declaring a Muslim to be a disbeliever) are met in his case and that there are no impediments to it.

Allah Knows best.

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