#1109: On How Female Should Dress In Islam
السلام عليكم ورحمه الله وبركاته
Please I urgently need answers for this question.
“How should the female dress in Islam?”
ANSWER:
Wa Alaykum Salam Warahmatullah wabarakaatuh.
Alhamdulillah.
As for the dressing of the Muslim Woman, then in the Shar’iah are mainly guidelines that should be followed for the Shariah has not particularly mentioned or implied particular dresses that must be worn or adhered to.
Of the Guidelines mentioned by the Shariah is that it does not leave any part of her body exposed for people to see. And the extent and limits of this is what the Fuqahaa differed about and the verse in concern is the Verse where Allah said:
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُوْلِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاء وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.”
The extent to which is differed is “Except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof.. ”
For of the Fuqahaa are those who say that what ordinarily appears thereof are the hands (fingers, palms to the wrists) and the faces.
This is the position favoured by Abdullah bn ‘Abbas radiyallahu anhuma,’ Ataa, Ikrimah, Sa’id bn Jubayr, Abu Ash-Sha’athaa, Ad-Dahhaak and Ibrahim An-Nakha’i among the foremost generations.
And there are those who hold that it is their outer garments that ordinarily appears thereof. This is the position held by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud radiyallahu anhu, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ibn Sirin, Abu Al-Jawzaa and many others. And the Madhaahib of the Fuqahaa are split evenly along these lines. But let it be known that none of the Fuqahaa held that anything other than the hands and the faces may be exposed of her body.
Of the Guidelines also mentioned by the Shariah is that whatever she exposes must not be ornaments in themselves.
The Verse referred to above says “…And not display their beauty except to their husbands…”
If they are commanded to conceal themselves and not to display their beauties, it follows naturally that their concealments must not be ornaments in themselves.
Of the Guidelines mentioned in the Shariah is that it should not be transparent. Whenever a dress is transparent then it contravenes the reason behind concealment mentioned in the Shariah and the verse referred which is to contain beauty from other than the men mentioned in the verse.
Of the Guidelines mentioned also is that it is not tight and inviting. Whenever women dressing is tight and not loose, it invites men to the shapes of their bossoms and their bodies. This is a place of Fitnah for men and contravenes the purpose of the concealment in the first place.
Of the Guidelines also mentioned by the Shariah is that it must not be scented in such a way that It is inviting and attracting. This is because of the Hadith in which the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam warned women from coming out of their homes with fragrances that attract men. In the Hadith that was recorded from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari radiyallahu anhu, the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam said:
أيما امرأة استعطرت فمرت على قوم ليجدوا من ريحها فهي زانية
“Whichever woman wears a perfume and passes by a people in such a way that they perceive of her fragrance, then she is a fornicator”
It is mentioned from Abdullah bn Umar that he used to say regarding women leaving their homes with perfumes:
“You are wearing perfumes when you know that the hearts of men are located in their noses? ”
Of the Guidelines mentioned in the Shariah is that it does not emulate the dresses of the Kuffaar or the dressing of men. This is a matter about which the Fuqahaa are agreed.
May Allah make this easy for our sisters.
Barakallahu fikum
Jazakumullahu Khayran
Abū Asim
20th Shaaban, 1442 AH.
📚 IslāmNode
