What is the reason for the jurisprudential disagreement concerning women's dress? Is it a hijab or a niqab? What was the situation like during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him? And why was this not clarified for the people?

The disagreement regarding the obligation for a woman to cover her face stems from several reasons, including conflicting hadith (prophetic narrations). However, the hadith indicating the permissibility of uncovering the face are understood to refer to the period before the revelation of the hijab (veil) verse. After the revelation of Allah's saying: "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments." [Al-Ahzab: 59], women were prohibited from revealing their faces. Ibn Abbas interpreted "bringing down" as covering the face, and this was supported by 'Ubaidah Al-Salmani. As for some scholars' interpretation of Allah's saying: "and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent [thereof]." [An-Nur: 31] as referring to kohl and rings, it is weak. Moreover, some hadith used by those who argue for the permissibility of uncovering the face, such as the hadith of Al-Fadl ibn Abbas or the hadith of Jabir regarding the woman with dark cheeks, do not support this view. Reality also confirms that covering the face was practiced in early Islam and remained so until the advent of colonialism, which sought to Westernize women.