13. The way one of their shaykhs disables the juristic maxim taʾkhīr al-bayān ʿan waqt al-ḥājah lā yajūz (delaying clarification past the moment of need is impermissible), along with the principle that the Prophet’s tacit approval and silence constitute legal evidence, all for the sole purpose of evading the clear implication of the ḥadīth of the Khathʿamī woman that uncovering the face is allowed.

These are some of the facts and misconceptions into which the excessively strict opponents have fallen—through fanaticism for their own opinion, neglect of the scholarly rules of ḥadīth and fiqh alike, and their refusal to profit from the sayings and ijtihād of other scholars, both predecessors and successors. The discerning reader will spot them in those ten studies; I have set them plainly before his eyes so that they may serve as a lesson to whoever is willing to take heed. ⦗145⦘