🏡 Rights & responsibilities · #47
A husband asks his wife to wear a face veil (niqab). Must she comply?
Covering the face is not obligatory according to the relied-upon view of the Shafi'i school in normal circumstances; a husband's request in a permissible matter deserves consideration, but it should be negotiated, not forced.
Allah commands women to cover their aurat and draw their headscarves over their chests (an-Nur 24:31) and to lengthen their outer garments (al-Ahzab 33:59). Scholars differ on the face: many Shafi'i scholars consider the face and palms not to be aurat before non-mahram men, while others require or recommend covering them. Obedience to a husband applies in what is reasonable, and a wife who chooses to wear the niqab at her husband's request does a good thing. Yet consider her work, safety, identification requirements and comfort. Compulsion through threats does not fit with living together in kindness (an-Nisa' 4:19). See Modesty & boundaries.
Allah commands women to cover their aurat and draw their headscarves over their chests (an-Nur 24:31) and to lengthen their outer garments (al-Ahzab 33:59). Scholars differ on the face: many Shafi'i scholars consider the face and palms not to be aurat before non-mahram men, while others require or recommend covering them. Obedience to a husband applies in what is reasonable, and a wife who chooses to wear the niqab at her husband's request does a good thing. Yet consider her work, safety, identification requirements and comfort. Compulsion through threats does not fit with living together in kindness (an-Nisa' 4:19). See Modesty & boundaries.
Sources
Surah an-Nur 24:31Surah al-Ahzab 33:59Surah an-Nisa' 4:19