Among them is the verse in which Allah, the Exalted, says, “Tell the believing women to lower their gazes, guard their private parts, and not reveal their adornment except what ordinarily appears thereof; and let them draw their head coverings over their bosoms” (al-Nūr 24:31). Drawing the khimār (headscarf) over the juyūb (neck and chest openings) necessarily entails covering the face. When Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, was asked about the practical application of this verse, he covered his own face and exposed only one eye. This shows that the verse intends the covering of the face, and it is precisely the explanation Ibn ʿAbbās himself gave, as transmitted from him by ʿUbaydah al-Salmānī when he asked him about it.

Numerous Prophetic reports lead to the same ruling. Among them is the ḥadīth in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—forbade a female pilgrim in iḥrām from wearing a niqāb or a burqaʿ. This indicates that before entering iḥrām she would normally cover her face. The prohibition merely means that once in iḥrām she is to veil her face with something other than the niqāb or burqaʿ, as proven by the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her: “We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while in iḥrām. Whenever men passed by us, one of us would let down her khimār from the top of her head over her face, and when they had gone on, we would uncover it.”

Therefore, whether in iḥrām or not, a woman must cover her face in the presence of non-maḥram men, for the face is the center of beauty and the focus of their gaze. No sound evidence supports those who claim the face is not part of the ʿawrah; rather, the sound proofs are with those who affirm that it is. And Allah, Exalted is He, knows best.