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How do you interpret the noble Hadith: "A Muslim woman should not wear the niqab or gloves"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The hadith pertains to the prohibitions of ihram concerning clothing for both men and women. The prohibition therein against a woman wearing a niqab and gloves is not absolute, as indicated by the Prophet's saying: "A woman in ihram should not wear a niqab." Scholars have permitted a woman in ihram to lower a covering over her face, such as a khimar or similar garment, based on what was narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: "Riders used to pass by us while we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a state of ihram. When they came abreast of us, one of us would lower her jilbab from her head over her face, and when they had passed us, we would uncover it." The Prophet's prohibition of the niqab and gloves is evidence that a woman's face is like a man's body, not his head. Therefore, what is tailored and fitted to the face, such as the niqab and burqa, is forbidden for her, but covering with a maqna'ah (head covering) or jilbab and similar garments is not forbidden.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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