To what extent is Fatwa No. 5224, which stipulates the obligation for women to cover their face and hands in front of foreign men, valid, and does this fatwa accord with what Sheikh Al-Albani and some imams of the four madhhabs have concluded, that the face and hands of a woman are not considered 'awrah?

We previously mentioned the rulings of the jurists from the four madhhabs regarding the ruling on covering the face, and the relied-upon opinion in the Shafi'i madhhab is the obligation of covering. As for Imam Ahmad, his companions narrated from him statements indicating the obligation of covering, such as his saying: "Her fingernail attached to her is 'awrah, so if she goes out, nothing of her should be visible; nor should her khuff (leather sock) be thin, for it describes the foot. And I prefer that she put a button on her sleeve near her hands."