Question Summary:
The following Is posted by my friend Who says Face covering for women in front of Na-Mehram is not and obligation and wrote these two Ahadith in his support, So Plese reply on his Claim. Jazakallah

Question Detail:

The following Is posted by my friend Who says Face covering for women in front of Na-Mehram is not and obligation and wrote these two Ahadith in his support, So Plese reply on his Claim. Jazakallah

Muslim :: Book 4 : Hadith 1926
Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I observed prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the 'Id day. He commenced with prayer before the sermon without Adhan and Iqama. He then stood up leaning on Bilal, and he commanded (them) to be on guard (against evil for the sake of) Allah, and he exhorted (them) on obedience to Him, and he preached to the people and admonished them. He then walked on till he came to the women and preached to them and admonished them, and asked them to give alms, for most of them are the fuel for Hell. A woman having a dark spot on the cheek stood up and said: Why is it so, Messenger of Allah? He said: For you grumble often and show ingratitude to your spouse. And then they began to give alms out of their ornaments such as their earrings and rings which they threw on to the cloth of Bilal.
(Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8, Hadith No. 6228)
During the day of Nahr (10th Dhul-Hijja), when Al-Fadl bin 'Abbas was riding behind the prophet on his she -camel, "...a beautiful woman from the tribe of Khath'am came, asking the verdict of Allah's Apostle. Al-Fadl started looking at her as her beauty attracted him. The Prophet looked behind while Al-Fadl was looking at her; so the Prophet held out his hand backwards and caught the chin of Al-Fadl and turned his face (to the other side) in order that he should not gaze at her..."

some scholars argue that all the ahadith, which speak of women's faces being seen, are of the time earlier than the revelation of the verses of Al-Qur'an 33:59 & 24:31, which make covering the face compulsory. Firstly, as discussed earlier, these Qur'anic verses do not make covering the face compulsory for women. Secondly, to prove that these verses make the covering of women's face compulsory, they have to quote an authentic hadith for it, which they don't. Thirdly most of the ahadith quoted above, are of the time after these Qur'anic verses were revealed.

Thus, it can be concluded that covering the face is not obligatory for women. However, covering the face was obligatory for the Ummul Mu'mineen, the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) as was Tahajjud obligatory for the Prophet (pbuh). Although Muslims are exempted from its obligation, it is still a highly recommended Sunnah for the Muslims. The scholars unanimously agree that it is preferable for Muslim women to cover their faces. Thus it is not compulsory for Muslim Women to cover their faces but those women who cover their faces may continue to do so if they wish. And Allah knows the best.

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
The ruling of covering the face for all Muslim women is mentioned in Surah al-Ahzab:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاء الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا.(الاحزاب، 59)
O Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam)! “Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. cover themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”(Quran 33: 59)
This ayat, which was also mentioned by your friend in the query, clearly mentions that not only the wives of the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wasallam) but also his daughters and the wives of the believers are to wear veils to cover their faces. Where there is an ayat that states so clearly the ruling of covering the face, there is no need to present any Ahadith. However, to further clarify that this ayat is indeed talking about covering of the face, we present the tafaseer of Sahabah and Mufassreen who have clearly stated that the above mentioned ayat commands covering of the face:
عن ابن عباس: أمر الله نساء المؤمنين إذا خرجن من بيوتهن في حاجة أن يغطين وجوههن من فوق رؤوسهن بالجلابيب، ويبدين عينًا واحدة.(تفسير ابن كثير، 3/483، المفيد)
Ibn Abbas (RadhiAllahu Anhu) narrates: Allah Ta’ala ordered the wives of the believers that, if they leave their homes for a necessary reason they should cover their faces from over their heads with their cloaks leaving one eye open (to enable them to see their way).
قال محمد بن سيرين: سألت عَبيدةَ السّلماني عن قول الله تعالى: { يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلابِيبِهِنَّ } ، فغطى وجهه ورأسه وأبرز عينه اليسرى. (تفسير ابن كثير، 3/483، المفيد)
Mohammed ibn Sireen (RahmatuAllah Alayh) says: “I asked Ubaidata as-Salmani (RahmatuAllah Alayh) about “to draw their cloaks over their bodies”. So he covered his face and head leaving only his left eye uncovered.”
 
 قال السدي : تغطي إحدى عينيها وجبهتها والشق الآخر إلا العين .  (البحر المحيط، 8/504، دار الفكر) 
Imam Suddi (RahmatuAllah Alayh) says: “She should cover one of her eyes, her forehead, and the other half of the face leaving one eye uncovered.”
قال ابن عباس ، وقتادة : وذلك أن تلويه فوق الجبين وتشده ، ثم تعطفه على الأنف ، وإن ظهرت عيناها ، لكنه يستر الصدر ومعظم الوجه . (البحر المحيط، 8/504، دار الفكر)
Ibn Abbas and Qtadah (RadiAllahu Anhuma) say: “It is to wrap it (their cloaks) above the forehead and tie it, and then wrap it over the nose so that her eyes are visible. However, it should conceal the chest and majority of the face.” 
 
قال أبو حيان : وقوله تعالى : { يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلابِيبِهِنَّ } ، شامل لجميع أجسادهن ، أو المراد بقوله : (عليهن) أي على وجوههن ، لأن الذي كان يبدو منهن في الجاهلية هو الوجه, (البحر المحيط، 8/504، دار الفكر)
Abu Hayyan (RahmatuAllah Alayh) says: The verse,”to draw their cloaks over their bodies”, means their entire bodies; or the meaning of, “over them”, means over their faces. Since the part of their bodies that was uncovered at the time of ignorance was in fact the face.
 
قال أبو السعود : معنى الآية : أي يغطين بها وجوههن وأبدانهن إذا برزن لداعية من الدواعي.                  (روائع البيان، 358، العصرية)
Abu as-Saud (RahmatuAllah Alayh) says: “The meaning of the Ayat is, to cover with them (the cloaks) their faces and bodies when they went out (of their homes) for a need.
 
قال أبو بكر الرازي : في هذه الآية دلالة على ان المرأة الشابة مأمورة بستر وجهها عن الأجنبيين وإظهار الستر والعفاف عند الخروج. (أحكام القرآن للجصاص، 3/486، العلمية)
Abu Bakr al-Razi (RahmatuAllah Alayh) says: “In this Ayah it proves that a young woman is ordered to conceal her face from strangers (non-Mahrem) and to show concealment and chastity when exiting (their homes).
 
The above mentioned tafaseer clearly show that Allah Ta’ala has ordered the believing women to cover their faces in front of non-mahrem men. As for the responses to the two Ahadith used in the query to prove that the covering of the face is not necessary, they are as follows:
 
1.)     The Hadith about al-Fadhl ibn Abbas (RadiAllahu Anhu) from Bukhari, it was in fact from after the verses were revealed. However, a simple explanation to it is the fact that the woman mentioned in the Hadith was in Ihram and the ruling for a woman in Ihram is not to cover her face. That is why the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassalam) turned away the face of al-Fadhl ibn Abbas (RadiAllahu Anhu) instead of telling the woman to cover her face. Therefore, this Hadith cannot be used to prove that it is not necessary for women to cover the face. (Fathul Bari, 11/12, Qadeemi)
2.)    The Hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah (RadiAllahu Anhu) from Muslim is also used in the query consider the following Hadith:
 
عن أم عطية قالت أمرنا رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- أن نخرجهن فى الفطر والأضحى العواتق والحيض وذوات الخدور فأما الحيض فيعتزلن الصلاة ويشهدن الخير ودعوة المسلمين. قلت يا رسول الله إحدانا لا يكون لها جلباب قال « لتلبسها أختها من جلبابها ».(صحيح مسلم، 1/291، مختار)
Umme Adiyata (RadiAllahu Anha) says: “The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassalam) ordered us to bring out on the days of al-Fitr and al-Adhha our freed slaves, our menstruating women, and our veiled women. As for the menstruating women they should remove themselves from the Salah but participate in the good gatherings and supplication of the believers. I asked, “O Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) one of us does not have a cloak.” He (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) said, “Surely let one of her sisters cover her with her own cloak.”(Muslim)
 
This Hadith above shows that the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) did in fact order the believing women to cover themselves when coming to the Eid Salah. Even though one of the women did not have a cloak to conceal her face and body, the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) ordered her to be veiled with a cloak of her sister and did not allow her to come unveiled. 
 
In conclusion, the ruling of concealing the face is an issue quite often brushed away as something of no importance when, in reality it is an issue that deserves and was given great importance at the time of the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam). The female companions (RadiAllahu Anhunna) of the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) took such great care of concealing their entire bodies, so much so, that after a battle a Sahabyyah (RadiAllahu Anha) came to the Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wassallam) looking for her son who had gone missing. Seeing her fully covered at such a stressful time the companions were amazed and showed their amazement to her. Upon which she exclaimed, “I have lost my son, not my modesty.” Such was the care and modesty of the Sahabyaat (RadiAllahi Anhunna)! 
(أحكام القرآن للجصاص، 3/486، العلمية)
(صفوة التفاسير، 2/490-494، قديمي)
(البحر المحيط، 8/504، دار الفكر)
(تفسير ابن كثير، 3/483، المفيد)
(أحكام القرآن للتهانوي، 3/393-483، الاسلامية)
(فتح الباري، 11/ 12، قديمي)
(شرح النووي لصحيح مسلم، 2/180، الريان)
(روائع البيان، 357-358، العصرية)
 
 
And Allah knows best
Wassalamu Alaikum
Ml. Sajid bin Shabbir,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah