Is hijab fard or sunna?

Question

Question: (1) Is hijab for women before a non-mahram fard or sunna, and on the basis of which noble verse of the Qur’an or which noble hadith — so that one may act with complete assurance? (2) Is Zayd’s wife required to observe hijab before Zayd’s father or not? And if observing hijab is not required, is there any noble verse of the Qur’an or noble hadith about it? Kindly cite that too and inform us.

Answer

(1) It is fard, by the word of Allah Most High: [ar]قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا۟ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ[/ar] “Tell the believing men to lower their gazes…” (Surah al-Nur, 24:30; “Bada’i‘”, vol. 5, p. 121). [ar]لا يجوز النظر إلى المرأة (الأجنبية) لما فيه من خوف الفتنة، ولهذا قال عليه السلام: المرأة عورة مستورة[/ar] “It is not permissible to look at a (non-mahram)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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