سنن ابي داود
Abu Dawud
كتاب اللباسClothing (Kitab Al-Libas)
باب فِيمَا تُبْدِي الْمَرْأَةُ مِنْ زِينَتِهَاChapter: What A Woman May Show Of Her Beauty.
Hadith 4104
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ الْأَنْطَاكِيُّ ، وَمُؤَمَّلُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ الْحَرَّانِيُّ ، قَالَا : حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ ، عَنْ خَالِدٍ ، قَالَ يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ دُرَيْكٍ : عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا : أَنَّ أَسْمَاءَ بِنْتَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ دَخَلَتْ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَلَيْهَا ثِيَابٌ رِقَاقٌ ، فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، وَقَالَ : " يَا أَسْمَاءُ إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْمَحِيضَ لَمْ تَصْلُحْ أَنْ يُرَى مِنْهَا إِلَّا هَذَا وَهَذَا ، وَأَشَارَ إِلَى وَجْهِهِ وَكَفَّيْهِ " ، قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُد : هَذَا مُرْسَلٌ خَالِدُ بْنُ دُرَيْكٍ لَمْ يُدْرِكْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا .
Narrated Aishah, Ummul Muminin: Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wearing thin clothes. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned his attention from her. He said: O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands. Abu Dawud said: This is a mursal tradition (i. e. the narrator who transmitted it from Aishah is missing) Khalid bin Duraik did not see Aishah.
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
Some scholars deduce from this hadith that it is permissible for a woman to keep her face uncovered, which is not correct.
Because it is possible that this statement was made before the rulings of hijab were revealed, and furthermore, this narration is mursal, as Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah has clarified, and one of its narrators, Sa'id bin Bashir Azari, is weak. See .
Furthermore, in the next (hadith 4106), it is mentioned that Sayyidah Fatimah radi Allahu anha used to be anxious to cover her feet, and in hadith 4118 it is mentioned that Sayyidah Umm Salamah radi Allahu anha also asked about lengthening the edge of her cloak, so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam indicated a handspan, upon which she objected that in this way the feet would remain uncovered.
When the mothers of the Ummah, who are the most excellent and worthy examples for all women, were in such a state that they were distressed about their feet being uncovered, then how can it be believed that they would consider it permissible to uncover the face? And for anyone (whether woman or man), the face is the very source of beauty and ugliness, while the men of the Ummah have been commanded that if they need to ask for something, they should not enter the houses with their faces raised, but rather ask from behind a screen. In many authentic and explicit ahadith, it is not permissible for a non-mahram to go to a strange woman, and it is also not permissible for the husband's male relatives to enter the house freely; rather, the husband's relatives, such as the brother-in-law, are death for a woman.
(For a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the issue of hijab and the covering of the face, see Tafsir Adwa' al-Bayan by Allamah Muhammad Amin Shanqiti rahimahullah under Surah al-Ahzab.)
Some scholars deduce from this hadith that it is permissible for a woman to keep her face uncovered, which is not correct.
Because it is possible that this statement was made before the rulings of hijab were revealed, and furthermore, this narration is mursal, as Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah has clarified, and one of its narrators, Sa'id bin Bashir Azari, is weak. See .
Furthermore, in the next (hadith 4106), it is mentioned that Sayyidah Fatimah radi Allahu anha used to be anxious to cover her feet, and in hadith 4118 it is mentioned that Sayyidah Umm Salamah radi Allahu anha also asked about lengthening the edge of her cloak, so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam indicated a handspan, upon which she objected that in this way the feet would remain uncovered.
When the mothers of the Ummah, who are the most excellent and worthy examples for all women, were in such a state that they were distressed about their feet being uncovered, then how can it be believed that they would consider it permissible to uncover the face? And for anyone (whether woman or man), the face is the very source of beauty and ugliness, while the men of the Ummah have been commanded that if they need to ask for something, they should not enter the houses with their faces raised, but rather ask from behind a screen. In many authentic and explicit ahadith, it is not permissible for a non-mahram to go to a strange woman, and it is also not permissible for the husband's male relatives to enter the house freely; rather, the husband's relatives, such as the brother-in-law, are death for a woman.
(For a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the issue of hijab and the covering of the face, see Tafsir Adwa' al-Bayan by Allamah Muhammad Amin Shanqiti rahimahullah under Surah al-Ahzab.)
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 4104
