Why is veiling not observed during the pilgrimage?

During the pilgrimage the whole person is turned towards God in deep love. In this state no one thinks of desiring glances, so the face veil, which otherwise guards against them, is not worn.

The veil has a purpose. It is meant to prevent desire and improper glances from disturbing the way men and women live alongside one another. Where this danger is absent, the reason for it falls away.

An example from everyday life shows this. When a fire breaks out or an accident happens, people run outside without a head covering and sometimes without shoes. Their emotions are entirely directed one way. In such a moment nobody thinks of looking at others with bad intentions.

The pilgrimage is an exceptional state of a very different kind, but with the same effect. It is the deepest experience a person can have in their relationship with God. Everything about it expresses love. Men do not wear ordinary clothes but only unstitched sheets. They go without head coverings. This is how a person behaves who is completely filled with love and has no mind left for outward things.

In this atmosphere, the thought of desiring glances is ruled out. People whose hearts are so strongly directed towards God are not led astray by the sight of a face. The verse above underlines this purity, and the instruction on dress in the state of consecration shows that the face veil is deliberately not part of it.

So setting aside the veil during the pilgrimage does not contradict its purpose. It confirms it. Where hearts are wholly with God, the protection the veil otherwise gives is already present in another way.