Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- The community should provide a good atmosphere for the new converts to help them step forward and strengthen their faith.
2- We must first try to convince the sister that covering her head is a religious obligation that has been decreed by Allah Almighty and His Messenger Muhammad.
3- We must also help this sister by placing her within a good company of Muslim sisters so that she may emulate them and get help from them.
4- It is essential that we treat the sister in a lenient and gentle manner rather than in a strict and rough way, as Allah Almighty always loves and blesses leniency and gentleness.
In response to the question you raised, the European Council for Fatwa and Research issued the following fatwa:
We must first try to convince the sister that covering her head is a religious obligation that has been decreed by Allah Almighty and His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and that has gained consensus of the scholars of the entire Ummah.
Allah Almighty stated in the Glorious Qur’an:
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms.” (An-Nur 24:31)
He also stated:
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad) that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested.” (Al-Ahzab 33:59)
Thus, Allah Almighty decreed modesty upon the Muslim woman so that she should be easily distinguished from the non-Muslims and from the non-obedient. Her mere clothing gives a clear signal that she is a serious and obedient woman, which deters all those that may have illness in their hearts.
We must also help this sister by placing her within a good company of Muslim sisters so that she may emulate them and get help from them. It is essential that we treat the sister in a lenient and gentle manner rather than in a strict and rough way, as Allah Almighty always loves and blesses leniency and gentleness.
Despite being an obligation upon all Muslim sisters, the head cover (or hijab, as it is called today) remains a secondary branch of religion. Therefore, if being strict in this matter will ultimately drive the sister to turn back on the major principles of Islam, or indeed, Islam entirely, it is extremely unwise to make a person leave a basic principle and a pillar of religion for the sake of a secondary matter.
The Fiqh of balances forces us, at times, to overlook a wrong-doing (munkar) so that a greater sin be averted. This is a well-known and approved principle.
However, while we may overlook this matter at this moment, we must not give up on this sister returning to the straight path and the correct way, imploring Allah Almighty to grant her guidance and treating her in a beautiful and gentle manner.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.