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Is it permissible for my wife to wear the hijab in such a way that it tightly and minimally covers the entire head area, except for the face, in a small circle around the face, along with wearing the abaya, in order to avoid harassment in Europe?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars differed regarding the obligation for a woman to cover her face and hands in front of non-mahram men. Imam Ahmad and Ash-Shafi'i held it to be obligatory, while Abu Hanifa and Malik held it to be recommendable. However, the jurists of the four schools of thought agreed on the obligation of covering the face when there is fear of temptation (fitna) and in times of widespread corruption. It is not advisable to travel to Europe for leisure and tourism due to the temptations and prohibitions present there; rather, one must keep away from places of temptation. It is not permissible to travel with one's wife for recreation in such places, even if she adheres to the prescribed Islamic dress, and uncovering the face is forbidden. It is possible to travel to Muslim countries, selecting places far from sins and evils.

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

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