“What is it, exactly, that you intend to do?”

The woman’s representative replied, “They want to look at your wife with her face uncovered so they can be certain of her identity.”

The husband said, “Then I testify before the judge that I acknowledge the dower she is claiming, on condition that she does not unveil her face.”

When the woman was informed of what her husband had done, she replied, “I testify before the judge that I have given him this dower as a gift and release him from it in this world and the Hereafter.”

The judge remarked, “Let this be recorded among acts of noble character.”

From this incident we understand that a woman’s covering her face with a veil—such as the burqa customarily worn today by chaste women—is a legitimate and praiseworthy practice. Although it is not obligatory, whoever adopts it has done well; whoever does not is not blameworthy.

What has already been explained also shows the first condition for a woman’s attire when she goes out: it must cover her entire body except the face and the hands.

Important benefit: In the verse of Surat al-Nur cited at the beginning of this discussion, “or their women” (24:31) refers to believing women, as stated by Mujahid and other early scholars. This refutes the claim of some modern writers who say it means “righteous women,” whether Muslim or non-Muslim.