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A woman uncovering her face in front of her non-Mahram relatives

Question

aoa, i always used to cover my head,left my face,hands and feet uncovered,now i hav started doing face veil,my problem is that na mehram male couins and other male relatives come to my house,this is a norm here in my country,i feel very uneasy,awkward and become sad because it is impossible for me to cover my face inside my house and my uncles and grand parents place at parties etc,i read in a book that rule for face cover is only for going outside the house,is it true? so if i uncover my face(even tho i am most unwilling to) in such situation will it be sinful?other then that my father is very discouraging about my covering the face,if i do it against his will,will i be punished for disobeying him?

Answer

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

A woman is obliged to cover her entire body in front of a non-Mahram man including the face and hands according to the preponderant view of the scholars  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them; for more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 83033, 83702 and 81554.

A woman does so when she goes out of her home or when she is in the presence of non-Mahram men. This is not peculiar to her being out of her home. So, you must observe proper Hijab in the presence of non-Mahram men in your home whether they are relatives or non-relatives. What you mentioned is not a sound reason for unveiling your face in front of them, otherwise you are sinful if you do so. You should not please people at the expense of your religion. ‘Aa’ishah  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her said: ‘I heard the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) saying: “Whoever seeks to please Allaah on the account of displeasing people, Allaah will be pleased with him and will make people pleased with him as well; and he who seeks to please people on the account of displeasing Allaah, Allaah will be displeased with him and will make people displeased with him."’ [Ibn Hibbaan]

Moreover, it is not permissible to obey a creature in disobeying Allaah even if it was a parent, because obedience is required only in what is permissible as confirmed by the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) in a Hadeeth reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them. Therefore, you are not sinful is you do not obey your father in this matter.

The two following matters should be mentioned:

1- The guardians should not be tolerant about the non-Mahram men entering upon women (under his guardianship), especially the relatives amongst them. It is confirmed that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Beware of entering upon women;” they said: ‘O! Messenger of Allaah, what do you say about the male in-law (the woman's husband's male relative like his brother, uncle, cousin, etc)?’ He replied: “He is death itself (i.e. his seclusion with women is as serious and dangerous as death).[Bukhari and Muslim]

2- If the parties that the family and other relatives organize include prohibitions, such as free mixing between men and women, then it is not permissible to attend them. Allaah Says about His believing slaves (what means): {And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.}[Quran 25:72] Ill speech here includes all kinds of falsehood.

Allaah Knows best.

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