Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti (pictured) has asked the former Makkah chief of the country’s religious police to repent.

Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti has asked the former Makkah chief of the country’s religious police to repent for his recent comments on the niqab, or face veil, the Saudi Gazette reported Wednesday.

Former Makkah chief of Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Sheikh Ahmad al-Ghamdi this week said women were not required to wear niqab on a local program presented by Dr. Badriya Al-Bishr, a prominent Saudi media personality.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Aal Alsheikh retorted that there are Quranic verses that say hijab (head cover) is obligatory for each and every Muslim woman and that women should also cover their faces, MBC.net reported.

The grand mufti said some scholars claim that it was permissible in the Shariah for women to uncover their faces and that face covering is a social habit, not a religious obligation. “This is wrong. Face covering is obligatory in the Shariah. That’s why a man who proposes to a woman can only see her face during engagement,” he said.

“Some of our Muslim brothers, May Allah guide them to the right path, embarrass their wives in front of the public. This act reflects stubbornness on their part. It’s a dangerous thing. I pray to Allah to make them repent and guide everyone to the right path,” Alsheikh said.

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