Short answer
Yes. Not wearing hijab is a sin, but a sin does not take a believer out of Islam as long as she accepts that hijab is Allah's command. Her prayers, fasts and good deeds still count. Denying that hijab is obligatory at all is a far more serious matter. Ahl al-Sunnah agree on this.
Leaving hijab in front of non-mahram men is a major sin, not disbelief. Rejecting the obligation itself, which is established by the Quran and the consensus of the scholars, is what endangers faith. A woman who stops wearing it after wearing it is under the same ruling: a sin to repent from, not apostasy.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Many Muslim women do not wear hijab, and many others wear it some of the time. Practice varies, but the ruling does not: covering the hair and body in front of non-mahram men is fard from puberty. See is hijab mandatory for the evidence.
The creed of Ahl al-Sunnah is that a Muslim who commits a sin, while believing it is a sin, remains a Muslim. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever dies believing there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise, even if he committed zina and theft. That is not permission to sin. It is a statement that faith and sin can exist in one person, and that the door of mercy stays open.
What this means in practice:
- Keep praying and fasting. Leaving hijab does not cancel your other worship. Do not add a second sin to the first.
- If you have taken it off, you are not an apostate. Be honest with yourself about the reasons, make dua, and take it up again when you can.
- Do not argue that it is not required. Saying "I find it hard" is very different from saying "Allah did not ask for it".
- Others should not judge your faith. Family and friends should advise kindly and privately, not shame or declare anyone a disbeliever.
Allah tells those who have wronged themselves not to despair of His mercy. Every step towards hijab is rewarded. For the why behind it, read why Muslim women wear the hijab, and for practical help see our hijab guide.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:31
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُنَّ أَوِ ٱلتَّٰبِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ أَوِ ٱلطِّفْلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ عَوْرَٰتِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٣١﴾
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
The command to cover is from Allah, so the obligation itself cannot be denied.
Quran, Surah Az-Zumar 39:53
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
A believer who falls short is called to repent, not to give up.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1237
Sahih... وإن زنى وإن سرق ...
"Even if he committed zina and even if he stole."
A believer who dies on tawhid enters Paradise in the end, so major sins do not take one out of Islam.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, The article on not declaring a Muslim a disbeliever for a sin. No one of the people of the qiblah is declared a disbeliever for a sin unless he holds it to be lawful.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Jihad, chapter on the apostate (Bab al-Murtadd). Denying a ruling known necessarily as part of the religion is disbelief; failing to act on it is not.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.