Is nakab necessary in Islam..?

WAllaahi it was a Sunnah, but not waajib. I was confused about it myself due to a misleading interpretation in a translation of The Quran from King Fahd Complex, which only mentions a part of the evidence related to the Ayah in Surat Nuur, and leaves out all the other Hadiiths in which are evidence that believing women among SaHabah used to not cover their faces allways. And it is well-known that women are treated unjustly in Saudi due to politics, not the real `ulama, and oppressed against Sunnah, as are immigrants and the poor - may Allaah have mercy upon them. What is obligatory according to the understanding of salaf (SaHabah and who followed on their Deen - and Allaah is pleased with them, and they are the true Muslims) is to cover everything properly except for the face and hands, which are allowed to cover, but not obligatory. And according to my wife in Salaah the face and the hands are not allowed to be covered, and she doesn`t speak without knowledge about Deen. There may be difference of opinion in that, and I don`t know. But in Hajj for example a muslimah is not allowed to wear niqab. And when their faces are left uncovered, they must have Hayaa, i.e. shyness, and not gaze at other men, and not try to show their beauty.
And Allaah knows best. Forgive me for not having time to mention all the sources.