The Companions on the face of a woman

source: silsilat ul-hudā wa nnūr ~ the series of guidance and light ~ tape no. 135

Question #6: [Continuing a discussion about the woman covering her face]
Shaykh al-Albānī answers:

“Ibn ʽAbbās and Ibn ʽUmar, from the foremost of the Companions, explained the āyah ‘except only that which is apparent’[1] to be the face and the two hands. And they (those who claim that a woman must veil her face) did not find a single authentic narration from the Companions with which they can support their opinion that it is obligatory to cover the face of a woman.”[2]
 
~ asaheeha translations ~

[1] Sūrat un-Nūr, 24:31; “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent…”
[2] for a detailed explanation of this issue, refer to the Shaykh’s book The Jilbāb of the Muslim Woman as in the Qur’ān and Sunnah