HIJAB IN THE LIGHT OF THE QUR’AN AND HADITH

~ 14 ~ The other point of view finds support from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, ‘Ata’, ‘Ikrama, Sa‘ib ibn Jubayr, Abu ash-Sha’tha’, Dahhak, Ibrahim Nakh‘i, etc. They infer from the phrase “such as are normally displayed” the exemption of face and hands. This interpretation is based on the tradition recorded by Abu Dawud in his Sunan: ‘Aishah says that once Asma bint Abu Bakr came wearing a thin garment. The Prophet turned his face away from her and said: “Asma, it is not proper for a woman after having reached puberty to expose any part of her body except these.” Then he pointed to his hands and face.21 That is why there are two theological schools of thought. The Hanafis and Malikis believe that the face and hands are not to be covered, while the followers of Imam Shafi‘i and Hanbali maintain that a woman has to be fully veiled. In this view, natural as well as acquired beauty have to be completely veiled. It is unlawful for a woman to unveil any part of her body when she goes out. To them, what is exempted is that which gets exposed