Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterWearing niqaab in one country but not in another
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. I am a Muslim who lives in Egypt and wears the hijbab. Recently, my father has moved to work in Saudia Arabia, where I go to visit him. Upon going there, my father insisted on me wearing the niqab there although he did not ask me to wear it back in egypt. I told him that I do not want to wear the niqab and that if it were an obligation then I would have to wear it in Egypt too. He replied by saying that in KSA most women were the niqab, so showing my face would be considered a Fitnah (temptation, tribulation), and that men there look more at women who showi their face. I strongly believe that I do not have to wear the niqab and that it is not an obligation and that there is no such thing as the niqab being an obligation somewhere and not somewehere else . I am going back to visit him in January and plan to stick to my opinion of not wearing the niqab there. So is there such a thing as extra covering being required in a place where men are more lustful? May Allaah reward you.
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 
is His slave and Messenger.
The scholars of Fiqh differed about the ruling on the niqaab; the majority of the scholars are of the view that it is recommended, contrary to some who held that it is obligatory. Please, refer to fatwa 85609.
However, even though they differed about its ruling in principle, they all agreed that it is obligatory at a time when there is corruption. This indicates that even according to the view that the niqaab is not obligatory in principle, it may be obligatory in some situations and not in others.
The Hanafi scholar Ibn ‘Aabideen said, “The meaning is that a woman is prevented from showing her face for fear that men would see her face and hence Fitnah (temptation/tribulation) would occur, because by showing her face, men may look at her with lust.”
The Maaliki scholar An-Nafraawi said, “You should know that if it is feared that Fitnah might happen when seeing her… then the Shariah requires that it is an obligation for her to cover her face at that time, not because it is an ‘Awrah (what must be covered of the body), but because of what is known to the people of this corrupt time, that if a woman shows her face, then people accuse her of immorality. Preserving one's honor is obligatory, just as preserving the religion and family lineage.”
If in addition to what is mentioned above, your father orders you to wear the niqaab (in Saudi Arabia), so it is more obligatory in this case, and obedience to the father in what is permissible is obligatory. Moreover, you will earn the pleasure of your father and you would be dutiful to him, and you would be imitating the righteous women like the Mothers of the Believers (wives of the Prophet) and all the female Companions. Also, the matter is easy in a country like Saudi Arabia as wearing it is common there, so a girl would not find difficulty or embarrassment in wearing it.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
