Second: When my wife, Umm al-Faḍl, and I performed ʿumrah in 1410 AH, we noticed many women making saʿy (the walk between Ṣafā and Marwah) while fully veiled in niqab. I would advise the men, and she would advise the women, that such veiling is not permissible; if they felt compelled to cover, they should do so by sadl (letting the scarf hang loosely over the face). We would cite the relevant hadith, yet no one responded. I sensed that this was the result of the strict stance some shaykhs take regarding the face. Since they insisted on strictness, they should at least have added a warning that a woman in ihram is forbidden to wear the niqab—a practice that is extremely widespread among them, as I have observed on every ḥajj and ʿumrah I have made.

On one occasion I saw, in the masʿa, a young man performing saʿy alongside a woman in niqab. I approached him and asked, “Is she in ihram?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “My brother, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A woman in ihram must not wear a niqab, nor…’ ” He would not let me finish the ḥadith, interrupting with, “This is a disputed question.” I replied, “My discussion is not about the woman’s face but about the niqab for a woman in ihram.” He paid no attention and continued the saʿy with her.

Third: In that same year—after the ʿumrah—I was able to visit Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, where I delivered several lectures and answered questions from both men and women, in writing and by telephone. I was later told that when some devout sisters there heard the ḥadith, “A woman in ihram must not wear a niqab…,” they said, “We will wear the niqab, we will not uncover our faces, and we will offer a fidyah (ransom).”

I exclaimed, “Glory be to Allah! See what ignorance does to its people—Allah has granted them… ⦗148⦘