Covering one's face when observing Pardah

Question:

Is it obligatory on a woman to cover her face when observing Pardah?

Reply:

A woman must cover her entire body including her face. In verse 59 of Surah Ahzaab (33) Allah Ta'ala said:

"O Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam)! Tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to cover themselves with their jilbaab/that they should draw down their jilbaab over themselves ..."

In the Tafseer of this Ayat, Hazrat Abdullah Bin Abbaas said:

"Allah Ta'ala ordered the Muslim women to cover their faces from above their head with their Jilbaab when they have to leave their homes for some necessity ..."

This shows that covering one's face is not a custom but a command of Allah Ta'ala. It should not be considered a burden. By observing pardah, a woman becomes neither a prisoner nor a slave. On the contrary, at the time of Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam), female slaves did not adopt this kind of Pardah. It was a sign of chastity, nobility, freedom and dignity. Unfortunately fooled by Islamophobes who are disguised as Islamologists, women consider this very nobility as a disgrace and a sign of backwardness and underdevelopment. But it must be known that real success and real nobility lie in following the commandments of Allah Ta'ala. And according to the commandments of Allah Ta'ala, a woman must cover her face.

[English version of "Couvert figure quand faire pardah" – Al Jamiat – Vol.6 No.13]