A woman should not wear Niqab during ‘Umrah or Hajj

27-11-1999 | IslamWeb

Question:

During Umrah and Hajj is it allowed to wear ‘niqab’?.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

It is forbidden for a woman in a state of Ihraam for Hajj or ‘Umrah to wear Niqab (face covering) as the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “A woman in a state of Ihraam should not cover her face or put on gloves”. [Al-Bukhari].

However, if she needs to cover her face because non-Mahram men are passing near her or they are where she is, then, in this case, she should lower her head-covering over her face as ‘Aa’ishah may Allaah be pleased with her said: “Men on camels (or on horses) would pass by us while we were in the state of Ihraam with the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) so, when they were near us, we would cover our faces with our head-covering and when they passed us, we would uncover our faces again”. [Abu Daawood]

Allah knows best.

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