Question:

 

Assalamo alaikum. It's been 9 years living in Australia. I observe sharai pardah ( face veil). It's mainly strictly requested from my husband.
 
 Previously I used to wear hijab and gown. But after marriage started to wear face veil too on request of my husband. The issue is I'm finding it hard to wear face veil here in Australia. I pick and drop my kids, do groceries and take them to swimming etc and find people staring and not friendly. I've discussed with my husband several times to only remove face veil, but every time he gets angry, do not understand and says it's strictly prohibited. I'll appreciate your advise on this.
 
 Jazakallah khair.

 

Answer:

 

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

 

Walaikumussalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

 

Dear sister,

 

Firstly, we commend you for your zeal to find out the teachings of the Shariah and to act upon them. May Allah SWT grant you steadfastness and reward you abundantly.

 

As Muslims we submit ourselves to our Creator and His will. He is our Creator and He best knows what is good for us and what is bad. This life is temporary whereas the life hereafter is eternal. Our destiny in the life hereafter will be based upon our actions in this world, how much we were true to our submission to the will of Allah SWT. As such, a Muslim should find out what is the command of the Shariah in a particular issue and then hold on to it "with his teeth", i.e. adhere to it firmly. Yes, if there is a genuine need for some leniency in the ruling, then Shariah does take such a need into consideration, such as the need for eating haram food in the state of starvation to save one's life if there is nothing halal to eat. However, note that merely avoiding inconvenience and irritation is not regarded as genuine need.

 

Regarding the issue of hijab and covering the body, the ruling of the Shariah is that it is compulsory on women to cover their entire body including the face in the presence of ghair mahram men. Only the palm is excluded from this due to necessity. There is great wisdom in this ruling of the Shariah, just as there is great wisdom in all the rulings of the Shariah. However, it is not our scope to delve into the wisdom of the injunctions of the Shariah. One who follows the Shariah without trying to understand the wisdom behind it has more rewards and a higher rank in the sight of Allah SWT.

 

As for people giving you dirty look, our advise is that you ignore them. Don't even look at them if you don't have to. Instead of trying to please the created, focus on pleasing the Creator. Instead of worrying about the dirty look of the people, think about the sight of mercy and love that Allah SWT is casting upon you due to you adhering to his commandment. Consider the following verse of the Quran:

 

وَلَنْ تَرْضَى عَنْكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَى حَتَّى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَى وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

 

Translation:

 

Never will the Jews or Christians be pleased with you, until you follow their faith. Say, “Allah’s guidance is the only true guidance.” And if you were to follow their desires after all the knowledge that has come to you, there would be none to protect or help you against Allah.

 

(Quran 2:120)

 

And Allah Ta'ala knows best.

 

Mufti Faizal Riza
 15/06/2022

 Darul Ifta Australia
 www.fatwa.org.au