Is the face veil (niqab) compulsory

Answer

Wa alikumus salaam. In the Hanafi school, the relied-upon position (المعتمد) is that the face and hands of a free woman are not ʿawrah in themselves. Accordingly, a woman's salah is valid if her face remains uncovered, and in principle it is permissible for her to uncover it. However, the jurists clearly stipulate that when there is fear of fitnah (temptation, corruption, or illicit attraction), it becomes impermissible for her to expose her face before non-mahram men, and in such circumstances covering the face becomes wajib.