“From this hadith we learn the permissibility of a woman serving her husband and his guests, provided there is no fear of temptation and she observes the required hijab; of a husband employing his wife for such service; of drinking a non-intoxicating beverage at a wedding feast; and of favouring the most distinguished person present with something not offered to the rest of the company.” I add: The claim that this incident occurred before the revelation of the hijab verse is unsupported. Nothing in the report even faintly suggests that the woman was unveiled so that one could plead abrogation. Even today one may see veiled village women attending to guests with full propriety while maintaining their covering and modesty. Hence the hadith stands un-abrogated. Al-Bukhari hinted at this by heading the narration with several chapter titles, among them: “Chapter: A woman’s standing before men at a wedding and serving them herself.” Nevertheless, we must not forget the conditions stated at the beginning of our discussion; because those conditions are seldom observed in many cities today—where most women have moved away from the sharia’s etiquette in dress and comportment—this permissibility has become largely theoretical. 1 The daf, pronounced with a damma on the initial d (a fathah is also acceptable), is a frame drum that has no jingles; when jingles are attached it is called a mizhar (Fath).