In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
The veil, be it the basic headcover or the face veil, is part of the religion that Allah – Glorified and Exalted is He – has given us, via our Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Here are a few links that bring forth the basis for these acts:
Why Hijab? – Shaykh Nuh Keller
Concerning the standard explanation of the verse of hijab – Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
The Hijab between Human Thought and Sacred Law – Shaykh Muhammad Isam Eidou
Taking off the Hijab in hostile America – Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf
Is it necessary to wear niqab? Isn’t hijab enough?
Take note that the last two do mention that it is okay not to wear niqab, but that doesn’t negate that niqab is a part of Islam, and is obligatory according to a few schools of thought (Shaf’i & Hanbali view it obligatory, while the Ahnaf view it obligatory due to fitnah).
More on the defense of the face veil/Niqab
We don’t have to agree with everything contained but we should do our research prior to speaking about these issues without the proper knowledge. We all have different situations with our dress, and our deen, period. There are those of us who wear khimar, others who also wear niqab; there are those of us who want to but can’t due to our own personal reasons; some of us may believe in the obligation of both but may leave niqab in the west, etc. Whatever our scenario, we can still come together, encourage each other to become better human beings all around, and try to bring the best out in each other. There has always existed some type of disagreement, but not this resentment that becomes too apparent when this topic goes public online and offline.
We should stop the judging of sisters who may not be fulfilling all of the conditions of Islamic dress properly – whatever their issues may be. Instead, we should be encouraging so that each of us will pay attention to the details surrounding our worship, but not for people – for Him. Remember that we veil for Him because He has commanded it. It is this intention that makes our way of dress beautiful to ourselves. Remembering that to Allah we are to return is what will give us the patience to deal with those who mock us when we go outside looking like Muslim women
Let us be patient, merciful, and open minded about our religion. That is how we learn to be compassionate and understanding. This is how we’ll taste the closeness that we should have as a community, and learn to truly care for each other, insha’Allah.
*I closed comments because the links are there to answer questions, and the advice I wanted to give is there for each one of us that reads this. I prefer to avoid any possible problems due to this topic anymore, and only on certain occasions may I actually discuss this online.