for them to inquire about matters of their religion. If not for the partition, they would have been obliged to cover their faces whenever they were questioned if men entered upon them, which would have been an evident hardship and difficulty. This was alleviated for them by the partition when they were in their homes. However, if they went out of their homes for some necessity, they covered their faces, as mentioned in several narrations cited in my book "Jilbāb al-Marʾah al-Muslimah." Moreover, there are many ḥadīths in the sunnah indicating that women, including some of the Prophet's wives (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam), did not cover their faces before the revelation of this verse of partition. I currently have three of them. The first: Anas (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) said: When Zaynab's waiting period was over, the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said to Zayd, "Mention her to me." He said: So Zayd went until he came to her while she was kneading her dough. He said: When I saw her, she became great in my heart to the extent that I could not look at her, as the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) had mentioned her. So I turned my back to her and retreated on my heels... the ḥadīth continues in a manner similar to what has been mentioned, and it includes the revelation of the verse of partition. It was recorded by Muslim (4/148), Aḥmad (3/195), and Abū Yaʿlá (6/77-78). The second: The ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah, and her statement in the "Story of the Slander" concerning Ṣafwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal al-Sulamī: "...he saw the silhouette of a sleeping person; he came to me when he saw me, and he had seen me before the partition. I awoke at his exclamation when he recognized me, so I covered my face with my jilbāb..." the ḥadīth in its entirety, and it is agreed upon. The third: Also from ʿĀʾishah, she said: I was eating with the Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) a dish of ḥays in a bowl, when ʿUmar (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) passed by—