while his heart is tranquil in faith (an-Naḥl 16:106)—just as ʿAmmār, may Allah be pleased with him, did when he is reported to have uttered a word of disbelief in order to save his own life. No Arab—indeed, not even a non-Arab who has mastered Arabic—would say otherwise, for everyone knows that the exception here merely grants permission. ʿAmmār availed himself of it, whereas Bilāl did not. So where is the problem? Consult Shaykh al-Tuwajirī’s book (p. 204) and you will behold foreign-style fiqh in full display.

The fourth objection

This one is mentioned only by our brother Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Iskandarānī, who writes in “The Return of the Ḥijāb” (3/342):

“It is inconceivable that the Qur’ānic verse and the authentic hadiths should command the believers to lower their gazes, while this hadith explicitly permits looking at the face and the hands. That would require interpreting the hadith—assuming, of course, that it is even sound….”

and so on.

I reply: As for its authenticity, this has already been demonstrated beyond the slightest doubt to anyone fair-minded and acquainted with the scholars’ methods of establishing hadiths and the principles on which they base their rulings.

As for those ignorant of this science, who never consult the people of knowledge and latch on to whatever anyone says—people of no consequence whatsoever—we have nothing to do with them.

The response, then, is as follows:

⦗111⦘