one of us would pull her cloak down from the top of her head so that it covered her face; when they had gone by, we would uncover it again.” (1)

The evidences from the Qur’an and the Sunnah for the obligation of a woman to veil her face from men who are not her mahrams are numerous. Dear Muslim sister, I therefore refer you to the following works: The Woman’s Hijab and Her Dress in Prayer by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah; The Ruling on Unveiling and Hijab by His Eminence Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Baz; The Well-Known Smiting Sword Against Those Smitten with Unveiling by Shaykh Hamud ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Tuwayjiri; and The Treatise on Hijab by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-ʿUthaymin. These writings are sufficient on the subject.

Be aware, dear sister, that those scholars who did allow a woman to expose her face—although theirs is the weaker opinion—did so only on the condition that there is no fear of temptation. Such safety, however, can scarcely be guaranteed, especially in our times when religious restraint has waned among both men and women, modesty is scarce, advocates of temptation are many, and women have mastered an array of facial adornments that invite fitnah. So beware of this, my sister, and hold fast to the hijab that, by Allah’s permission, shields you from temptation. None of the recognized scholars of Islam, past or present, permits what these deluded women have fallen into, and among the Muslim women there are those who