The veil was laid upon women only so that their faces and hands would not be seen.

Hijab is an obligation for free women, not for bondwomen. Such was the practice of the believers in the time of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—and his caliphs: the free woman would veil herself, whereas the bondwoman would appear uncovered. Whenever ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—saw a bondwoman wearing a khimār (head-scarf) he would strike her and say, “Are you imitating the free women, you silly girl?”⦗1⦘ Thus a bondwoman’s head, hands, and face remained visible.

Allah the Exalted said,

“And the women advanced in years who have no hope of marriage—there is no blame upon them if they lay aside their outer garments, provided they do not flaunt their beauty; but to remain modest is better for them.”⦗2⦘

So the elderly woman who no longer hopes for marriage was granted a concession to put aside her garments—that is, not to cast her jilbāb over herself and not to veil—although she is counted among the free women. The reason is that the mischief present in other cases is absent here, just as the Quran exempted the male attendants who lack sexual desire from the ruling on displaying hidden adornment because no temptation arises in their presence.

Likewise, if there is fear of temptation concerning a bondwoman, she too must let her jilbāb fall and observe hijab, and it becomes obligatory to avert one’s gaze from her and for her to avert her gaze.

There is nothing in the Quran or the Sunnah that permits gazing at all bondwomen in general, nor that allows them to abandon hijab and reveal their adornment; rather, the Quran did not command them with what it commanded