The texts are unanimous that the Prophet’s wives observed seclusion to the point of covering their faces. Here are some of the hadiths and reports that bear this out:
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ʿĀʾishah related:
After the command for the veil¹ had been given, Sawdah went out to relieve herself. She was a stout woman whom anyone who knew her could recognize. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb saw her and said, “O Sawdah! By Allah, you are not hidden from us; so mind how you go out.” She said: “I turned back, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in my house, eating supper, a shank-bone—meaning the bone from which most of the meat has been taken—still in his hand. I entered and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I had gone out for a need and ʿUmar said such-and-such to me.’” She continued: “Then revelation came to him, and when it lifted, the shank-bone was still in his hand, not yet put down, and he said: ‘You women have been granted permission to go out for your needs.’”²
1 – Reported by al-Bukhari, 8:430–431; Muslim, 7:6–7; Ibn Saʿd, 8:125–126; Ibn Jarir, 22:25; al-Bayhaqi, 7:88; and Ahmad, 6:56.
1. In the verse, “And when you ask them for any item, ask them from behind a hijab” (33:53), hijab here means screening the very persons of the Prophet’s wives. The verse was revealed in accord with ʿUmar’s view, for al-Bukhari (8:428) and others relate from Anas that ʿUmar said: “Messenger of Allah! Both the righteous and the wicked enter upon you; so command the Mothers of the Believers to observe hijab.” Thereupon the verse of hijab was sent down.
2. The hadith also indicates that ʿUmar recognized Sawda only by her physique, which shows that her face was covered. ʿAisha notes that Sawda was recognizable by her large build; hence ʿUmar wished that she not be identified even by her body—that is, by her remaining indoors. Yet the wise Lawgiver did not endorse his wish on this occasion, because such a restriction would cause hardship,