by Asma bint Shameem
QUESTION
Can I WIPE my face in ihraam? Can my hijaab touch my face?
ANSWER
A LOT of women have this BASELESS MISCONCEPTION that NOTHING can TOUCH their FACE during ihraam.
This misconception is so common, not just among everyone but even the niqaabi sisters put a CAP on their head and then drape a piece of cloth over the cap in such a way that the cloth stays away from their face and does not touch it.
That’s because they think it is “forbidden” for anything to touch their face during ihraam.
And women at Hajj go through such hardship and difficulty trying to “keep the hijaab from touching their face”!
I see it every single year.
But in reality, they go through all this trouble for NOTHING!
In order for anything in our Deen to be “allowed” or “not allowed”, we have to look at the Qur’aan and the authentic teachings/practice of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.
But we find that there’s NO PROOF in the Sharee’ah that says that a woman cannot “touch” or “wipe” or “rub” her face while in ihraam.
There’s NO Aayah in the Qur’aan.
None whatsoever.
There’s NO authentic Hadeeth in the Sunnah to prevent that.
So if there’s nothing in the Legislative sources to prevent a woman from touching her face, why IMPOSE something that’s NOT proven and in the Sharee’ah?
Why make life difficult?
📌Proof:
🍃 Our Mother Aaishah radhi Allaahu anhaa said:
“The riders used to pass by us when we were with the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) in ihraam.
When they came alongside us we would lower our jilbaabs from our heads over our faces, and when they had passed by we would uncover them.”
(Abu Dawood--saheeh by al-Albaani)
This above hadeeth PROVES that if it was some UNACCEPTABLE thing for anything to touch the face, then WHY would Aaishah radhi Allaahu anhaa pull her Hijaab over her face to cover herself when other nonmahram men passed by?!
Surely such a pious, knowledgeable Sahaabiyah would have taken care of this ruling.
And the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam would have CORRECTED her, if she was wrong.
But he DIDN’T.
🍃 Ibn al-Qayyim said:
The Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah Radhi Allaahu anhaa said:
“When the riders passed by us, one of us would let down her jilbaab from her head over her face.”
And she did not use a stick to create some distance between her face and the jilbaab, as some of the fuqaha’ suggest.
This is not known from any of the women of the Sahaabah or from the Mothers of the Believers at all, either as an action that they did or something that was enjoined in a fatwa.
It is impossible that this could have been one of the practices of ihraam and was not well known among them and known to everyone, elite and common folk alike.”
(Badaa’i‘ al-Fawaa’id 2/664-665)
🍃 Shaykh ibn Baaz said:
“It is permissible for the woman in ihraam to let her head cover down over her face if she needs to do so, without using anything to lift it off her face.
If the head cover touches her face, there is no blame on her, because of the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah Radhi Allaahu anhaa who said:
“The riders used to pass us … “and he quoted the hadith mentioned above.
“With regard to what many women do, of using a stick under the head cover to lift it off the face, there is NO BASIS for that in Sharee‘ah as far as we know.
If that were prescribed, the Messenger ﷺ would have explained it to his ummah, and he could not have remained silent about it.”
(Majmoo‘ Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Baaz 16/54-56)
🍃 Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“There is no blame on the woman if her hijaab touches her face, contrary to the view of some scholars who say that the hijaab must not touch her face, because there is no evidence for this condition in the Qur’aan or Sunnah.”
(Majmoo‘ Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 22/184)
🔺 So What to Do?
Get this misconception OUT of your head.
GO AHEAD and WIPE your face if you need to during ihraam.
TOUCH your face if you want to.
Scratch or rub it when you’re itchy.
You do NOT need to keep your hijaab away from your face.
There’s NO restriction on you in this regard.
Alhamdulillaah our Deen is easy. Allaah will never put something on us that is not practical or unduly difficult.
🍃 Allaah says:
“He has not placed any hardship for you in your religion.”
(Al-Hajj 22:78)
🍃The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“This religion of ours is easy and simple to practice; if you make it hard upon yourself, you will be defeated by it.
So do not be extremists, but try to be near perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.”
(al-Bukhaari)
And Allaah knows best
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