Religion is a guideline of human life in human life in overcoming the problems encountered so as to reconcile the birth and inner human religion as a benchmark of human beings in menbentuk personality and behavior that serves to understand and understand each other among religious communities in each individual.
Understanding between good and bad, right and wrong misunderstanding between what can and should not be done because the teachings of religion determine the belief system so no wonder if a time the concept of religion contributed in determining human beings against what they see and what they do .
Religion is a trusted entity. Religion is believed to give encouragement and spreading happiness that forces people to seek and hope happiness in heaven. Religion is capable of directing the freedom of the human being which is taken and determined to be given to something called God. The result is the loss of freedom of thought submitted to faith, revelation and morality.
Basically, Islam is a religion whose adherents have been guaranteed to be safe in the world and in the hereafter. The etymology of Islam is derived from the word (إسلام يسلم, سلم) that survived. As for terminology, Islam is the religion of Allah swt brought by the Prophet Muhammad with full of struggle. Notice that although he is always insulted by the unbelievers but he strives for the upholding of this glorious religion.
Islam has provisions and laws that need to be practiced. But unfortunately sometimes some people are reluctant to learn all that. This is much different from the previous people who tended to study and practice it.
Indeed the Messenger of Allah has taught the provisions and laws to his people, one of which is the provision of dress. Clothing is used to cover the 'aurat, because' aurat are parts of the body that should not be shown or diumbar in front of people who are not mahram.
The veil is a covering cloth or a woman's face. In Arabic it is called niqab. In the Arab-Indonesian Dictionary by Mahmud Yunus it is mentioned that the niqab is the cover of a woman's face. Lois Ma'luf, in Dictionary of al-Munjid explains that the niqab is a head covering laid by the women on the tip of her nose and covers her face with her.
It is a tradition for Arab women of ancient times to cover their faces with veils and this continues until Arabs embrace Islam as their religion. After Islam became a religion for Arabs, some of them regarded the veil as a duty for every Muslim woman, but some regard it as sunnah, not obligation, some even assume veil has nothing to do with religion, but only Arabic tradition past .
Imam Shafi'i states in al-Um when explaining the conditions of prayer as follows:
وكل المرأة عورة إلا كفيها ووجهها
Meaning: And every woman's body is aurat except the palms of her hands and face.
Ibn al-Munzir said in his book al-Awsath as follows:
واختلفوا فيما عليها ان تغطي في الصلاة المرأة ان تغطي ما سوى وكفيها وجهها. هذا قول الاوزاعي والشافعي وابي ثور
Meaning: The scholars differed in terms of women's obligations to cover aurat in prayer. A group of scholars say the obligatory over the women cover all his body except both his palms and his face. This is the opinion of al-Auza'i, Shafi'i and Abu Tsur.
Ibn al-Munzir says that Ibn Abbas, 'Atha', Makhul and Said Bin Jubair argue that the intent of the ordinary that appears is both palms and face.
Abu Ishaq al-Syairazi says:
أما الحرة فجميع بدنها عورة إلا الوجه والكفين لقوله تعالى ولا يبدين زينتهن إلا ما ظهر منها قال ابن عباس: وجهها وكفيها ولأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى المرأة في الحرام عن لبس القفازين والنقاب ولو كان الوجه والكف عورة لما حرم سترهما ولأن الحاجة تدعو إلى إبراز الوجه في البيع والشراء وإلى إبراز الكف للأخذ والإعطاء فلم يجعل ذلك عورة
Meaning: As for free women, then the whole body is aurat, except the face and two palms. This is based on the word of Allah Ta'ala: "And let them not show their ornaments except the ordinary of them." Ibn 'Abbas said (commenting on this verse),' the meaning is the face and two palms of his hand '. Another basis is that the Prophet (SAW) forbids women when ihram wears gloves and veils. If the face and the palm of the hand is aurat, the Prophet will not forbid closing it. Another reason is because of the need that demands a woman to reveal a face in the sale and purchase, and show palms when giving and receiving something. So, do not make face and palms as aurat.
Imam al-Nawawi in al-Majmu 'said:
ان المشهور من مذهبنا أن عورة الرجل ما بين سرته وركبته وكذلك الامة وعورة الحرة جميع بدنها الا الوجه والكفين وبهذا كله قال مالك وطائفة وهي رواية عن احمد
Meaning: The famous opinion in our school (syafi'iyah) that male genitalia is between the navel to the knee, as well as slave girls. While the free female aurat is the whole body except the face and the palm of the hand. Similarly, the opinion embraced by Malik and a group of scholars and became one of the opinions of Imam Ahmad.
In Tuhfah al-Muhtaj, it is mentioned:
) و) عورة (الحرة) ولو غير مميزة والخنثى الحر (ما سوى الوجه والكفين) ظهرهما وبطنهما إلى الكوعين لقوله تعالى ولا يبدين زينتهن إلا ما ظهر منها أي إلا الوجه والكفين وللحاجة لكشفهما وإنما حرم نظرهما كالزائد على عورة الأمة لأن ذلك مظنة للفتنة
Meaning: Aurat of a free woman, though she is not yet mumayyiz and aurat khuntsa independence is in addition to face and two palms, zhahirnya and soulin so that two joints, according to the word of God: "And let them not show their jewelry, except the ordinary seen from him" ie except the face and two palms. Another reason is because there is a need to open it. It is only unlawful to look at the face and the palms of the hands as it is more than the private parts of a woman's slave, for such is potentially cause of slander.
Al-Ziyadi said:
أن لها ثلاث عورات عورة في الصلاة وهو ما تقدم وعورة بالنسبة لنظر الأجانب إليها جميع بدنها حتى الوجه والكفين على المعتمد وعورة في الخلوة وعند المحارم كعورة الرجل
Meaning: Women have three types of aurat: (1) aurat in prayer -as has been described (2) aurat on the view of the ajnabi man, that is the whole body including the face and the palm, in the opinion of mu'tamad, (3) the mahram, just like a man.
Shaykh Taqiyuddin al-Hushni, author of Kifaayatul Akhyaar, said:
ويكره أن يصلي في ثوب فيه صورة وتمثيل, والمرأة متنقبة إلا أن تكون في مسجد وهناك أجانب لا يحترزون عن النظر, فإن خيف من النظر إليها ما يجر إلى الفساد حرم عليها رفع النقاب
Meaning: Makruh hukumnya praying by wearing a picture or painting clothes. Makruh also women wear niqab (veil) when praying, except in a mosque whose condition is difficult to awake from the eyes of ajnabi men. If a woman is worried about being seen by an ajnabi man to inflict damage, it is unlawful to release the niqab.
In I'anah al-Thalibin mentioned:
قال في فتح الجواد: ولا ينافيه, أي ما حكاه الإمام من اتفاق المسلمين على المنع, ما نقله القاضي عياض عن العلماء أنه لا يجب على المرأة ستر وجهها في طريقها, وإنما ذلك سنة, وعلى الرجال غض البصر لأن منعهن من ذلك ليس لوجوب الستر عليهن , بل لأن فيه مصلحة عامة بسد باب الفتنة. نعم, الوجه وجوبه عليها إذا علمت نظر أجنبي الممية, ولأن في بقاء كشفه
Meaning: The author of Fath al-Jawad says, "What al-Imam narrates that the Muslims agree upon forbidden (forbidden women come out with open faces) is not contrary to what is quoted by Qadhi 'Iyadh from scholars that it is not mandatory for women to cover their faces on such a path is only the sunnah and it is always for men to press their eyes, for it is forbidden that such women are not obliged to cover their faces, but because there is a common problem by closing the door of slander. But in a strong opinion it is necessary to close it upon women when it is known there is a view of the ajnabi men to him, because understanding of the words of the clergy "women must cover their faces from kimir zimmi" and also for letting open face help over something that is haram.
Based on the above descriptions, it can be understood as follows:
a. Aurat of free women in prayer in the sense that it must be covered is the whole body except the face and the palm of the hand
b. Aurat of free women outside prayer in the sense of unlawful looking at it by ajnabi men (not mahramnya) is the whole body without exception, that includes the face and the palm of the hand.
c. Aurat of free women outside prayer in the sense of having to cover it the same as the aurat in the prayer, the whole body except the face and palms
d. must cover the face and the palm of the hand inside and outside the prayer upon the woman when he knows there is a view of men not muhrim him.
Aurat of independent women both inside and outside the boundary prayer that may appear are two palms and face.
The argument of the woman's free aurat in prayer and outside prayer in the sense that it must be covered is the whole body except the face and the palm of the hand. The meaning of "illa maa zhahara minha" is the face and the palm of the hand, as Ibn Abbas's statement, 'Atha', Makhul and Said Bin Jubair quoted by Ishaq al-Syairazi and Ibn al-Munzir above.
The explanations of Imam Syafi'i and other scholars mentioned above should not be understood that it is only a matter of female aurat in prayer alone, although the scholars explain it in the prayer chapter, even the boundaries of women's whole body parts except the face and the two palms also apply outside the prayer. This is because the postulate they use for women's entire body boundaries except the face and the two palms is based on Q.S. al-Nur: 31 above as seen in the explanations of Ibn al-Munzir, al-Syairazi and Ibnu Hajar Haitamy above. While as understood Q.S. al-Nur: 31 is applicable to Muslim women, both in prayer and outside prayer.
Ibn Kathir mentions the reason for this verse is a Muslim muslimah Asmaa bint Mursyidah was once among the Banuarites. The women of the Bani Haritha met him in their naked state, with anklets on their feet, chests and crests. Asmaa also said: "What a very heinous thing".
Then down verse Q.S. al-Nur: 31 this. Ibn Kathir's explanation has also been put forward by al-Suyuthi in the book of Luqab al-Nuqul fii Asbab al-Nuzul Based on this asbab al-nuzul, it can be understood that paragraph Q.S. al-Nur: 31, it is impossible to be understood only as an explanation of aurat women in prayer alone, because the cause of it is not possible to get out of the meaning of the verse as it is understood in ushul fiqh.
As a result, basically, aurat women outside the prayer is the whole body except the face and two palms. As for the nash that mentions female aurat outside the prayer is the whole body without exception, it is because the outer factor, such as slander, may invite the forbidden or other view as mentioned in the above conclusions. Therefore, sometimes women are in certain circumstances obliged to cover their entire body without exception, but the basic law of women's aurat does not include face and palms.
The above arguments show that, the veil is covering the whole body with cloth, except the eyes and only applies to women. But there has been a polemic, as in some newspapers in Cairo surrounding the "veil" issue that some Muslim teenagers, especially students. It started from the Egyptian Court's decision to handle the demands of female college students, who filed a lawsuit for being persecuted by a dean's decision to force them to remove their veil when they entered the campus.
In Indonesia alone the veil has produced its own problems especially when associated with the context of culture and conditions of Indonesia, whereas in establishing a law the scholars also based on time and place in addition to mashadiru shari'ah.
In Indonesia, there are still many people who view the veil as a strange item and tend to judge negatively. Muslim women who wear it are often accused of being followers of heretical sects or exclusive splinter flows. Though the veil terminology has been known by the santri in our boarding schools that show that the veil is not new, foreign, let alone said as not the teachings of Islam.
Scholars differ on the law of the veil, from the obligatory to the mandub (it is recommended) if the woman's face can cause lust. But no one says that the veil user is a heretic or splinter.
The veiled woman is often identified with Arabs or Middle East. Though wearing a veil or covering the face for women is an Islamic teaching based on the arguments of the Qur'an, saheeh hadiths and the application of the Companions of the Prophet, as well as the scholars who follow them.