| What a Woman May Wear
in the Presence of Other Women
Sheikh `Alî b. Muhammad al-Rîshân
There is a difference of opinion among scholars concerning what a woman
may show of her body in the presence of other women. Some scholars are
of the opinion that she only needs to cover what is between her navel
and her knees and they support their viewpoint with evidence. Others
disagree, maintaining that a woman may only show what was customary for
Muslim women at the time of the Companions to show when they were at
home and engaged in household chores.
Whenever there is disagreement on a matter concerning Islamic Law, it is
obligatory for us to refer it back to the Qur’ân and Sunnah. Allah says:
“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey His
Messenger and those in authority among you. If you disagree about
anything, refer it back to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in
Allah and the Last Day. This is best, and most suitable for a final
determination.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 59]
Therefore, we will be presenting the evidence for both opinions to
determine which opinion is the strongest. We will start by presenting
the evidence given to support the opinion of those who believe that a
woman may show only what the women among our pious predecessors were
accustomed to show.
Evidence of those who claim that a woman must cover what women
customarily covered at the time the Qur’ân was revealed
1. Allah says: “Say to the believing women that they
should lower their gazes and guard their chastity and not show of their
beauty except what must appear thereof, and that they should draw their
veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their
husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their
husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’
sons, their women, and those whom their right hands possess or male
servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no shame of
sex. Tell them that they should not strike their feet in order to draw
attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you who believe, turn to
Allah in repentance that perhaps you might be successful. ” [Sûrah al-Nûr:
31]
They argue that this verse gives women a command to lower their gazes
from what is not lawful to look at and to guard their chastity. It also
prohibits women from displaying their charms, and even prohibits them
from drawing attention to their hidden jewelry, except in front of their
husbands and the others mentioned in the verse. This verse indicates
that it is only allowed for women to show of their beauty and
decorations that which was customary for women to display at the time
the Qur’ân was revealed. Only the husband is allowed to see more, since
there are other evidences indicating that he may see everything of his
wife. This was the way many of the Companions and pious predecessors
understood this verse
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The woman must be covered. If
she goes outside, Satan makes her noticeable.” [Authentically related in
Sunan al-Tirmidhî (117), Sunan Ibn Khuzaymah (1685)
and Ibn Hibbân (5598-5599)]
This hadîth makes it clear that the woman must be covered, meaning that
nothing of her form may be revealed to anyone, except to those whom are
specifically mentioned by textual evidence.
3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Two groups of people from the
denizens of Hell I have not seen. One comprises those who carry whips
like the tales of cows with which they beat the people and women who are
clothed yet undressed, enticing and enticed, their hair done up like the
humps of camels.” [Sahîh Muslim] Women who are dressed yet
undressed are those who wear tight and revealing clothing that show off
the forms of their bodies. This hadîth shows that wearing such clothing
is prohibited and makes no distinction between being at home with her
family and being out in public.
4. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “A woman should not
embrace another woman then go to her husband and describe that woman to
him so that it is as if he could see her himself.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]
Such behavior violates the very meaning of modest dress and is a
revelation of what is customarily covered.
Evidence of those who claim that a woman needs to cover in front of
other women to the same extent that a man must cover in front of other
men
This is the opinion of the majority of scholars and jurists. Their
evidence is as follows:
1. “What must be covered is what is above the knees and below the
navel.” [Sunan al-Daraqutnî (879) and Sunan al-Bayhaqî (3237)] They
argue that this hadîth makes it quite clear what must be covered in
front of members of the same sex. It is worded generally; therefore it
is applicable to both men and women.
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Teach your children how to
pray. When they are ten years of age, discipline them about it and
separate their sleeping quarters. If one of you marries off his slave
girl to his male slave or servant, then he should refrain from looking
at what must be covered on her, and that is the area between the navel
and the knee.” Sunan al-Bayhaqî (3236)
3. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “You will open up the
lands of the non-Arabs and you will find therein places called bath
houses. Men should not enter these without wearing a waist cloth and
women should not enter these unless they are ill or experiencing
postnatal bleeding.” [Sunan Abî Dâwûd (4007) and Sunan Ibn
Mâjah (3854)]
4. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “Be wary of bath houses.”
His Companions asked: “O messenger of Allah ! Such places are good for
treating the sick.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Those who
enter such places should cover themselves.”
These two hadîth show that entering bath houses is permissible under the
condition that the one who does so covers himself. These hadîth do not
differentiate between men and women with respect to this obligation.
Therefore, when women enter bath houses with other women, they only have
to cover with a waistcloth what is between the navel and the knee.
5. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “A man should not look at
what must be concealed of another man nor a woman at what must be
concealed of another woman.” [Sahîh Muslim] The argument here
is that what is being said about women is the same as what is being said
about men. We can therefore assume that what a woman must conceal in
front of another woman is the same as what a man must cover in front of
another man.
6. It is a matter of consensus that a woman may wash the body of a
deceased woman in the same way that a man may wash the body of a
deceased man. Since a man may see what is above the navel and below the
knees of the body of the deceased, then it is likewise permitted to do
the same when she is washing a woman’s body.
Discussion of the evidence
Those who argue that a woman may only show to other women what she
should customarily wear inside her home do not accept the evidence of
those who disagree, arguing that such evidence is of two kinds. The
first is evidence that is clear-cut but unauthentic. The second is
evidence that is authentic but not clear in indicating that women only
have to cover between the navel and the knee.
The hadîth that reads “What must be covered is what is above the knees
and below the navel.” [Sunan al-Daraqutnî (879) and Sunan
al-Bayhaqî (3237)] is inauthentic. It contains two narrators who are
unacceptable: Sa`îd b. Râshid and and `Ubbâd b. Kathîr.
The hadîth that reads “…If one of you marries off his slave girl to his
male slave or servant, then he should refrain from looking at what must
be covered on her, and that is the area between the navel and the knee.”
is also inauthentic, since its chain of transmission contains the weak
narrators al-Khalîl b. Murrah and Layth b. Abî Sulaym. Moreover, there
are other narrations of this hadîth. In some of these narrations, the
body that is being discussed is that of the master and not that of the
slave girl, meaning that she may not look at his private area which is
between the navel and the knee. This inconsistency in the hadîth makes
it completely unsuitable as evidence.
Another argument against using this hadîth as evidence is that even if
it were authentic and without any inconsistency, it would merely be
showing what a married slave girl must cover in front of her master and
not necessarily what a free woman must wear.
Regarding the hadîth about bathhouses that begins “You will open up the
lands of the non-Arabs…”, it is inauthentic as well, since it contains
in its chain of transmission the weak narrator al-Ifrîqî. Moreover,
al-Ifrîqî relates this hadîth from `Abd al-Rahmân b. Râfi` who is
unknown. Moreover, even if this hadîth were authentic, it does not touch
upon the topic of how the women who enter the bathhouses must dress and
only grants a concession to women who have a medical need to enter the
bathhouses. Because of this, no general ruling about women’s dress can
be derived from it.
The other hadîth about bathhouses can be found with a number of
incomplete chains of transmission, without any mention the person who
should have heard the hadîth from the Prophet (peace be upon him). The
only narration that mentions a Companion is related by Ya`lâ b. `Ubayd
from al-Thawrî, who mentions the Companion Ibn `Abbâs. It is well known
that Ya`lâ b. `Ubayd, though generally a good narrator, is unreliable in
his narrations from al-Thawrî. Since all the other and much stronger
narrations ofthis hadîth do not mention Ibn `Abbâs, we can safely assume
that Ya`lâ was mistaken.
As for the Prophet’s statement “A man should not look at what must be
concealed of another man, nor a woman at what must be concealed of
another woman”, it is undoubtedly authentic. However, it does not at all
support their claim that what a woman must conceal in front of other
women is exactly the same as what a man must conceal in front of other
men. There is no reason for us to assume from this text that they are
the same, nor can we reason that they are by way of analogy. Allah says
elsewhere in the Qur’ân: “Men are not like women.”
The claim that since women can wash the bodies of other women, they can
see as much of their bodies as men can see of the bodies of other men is
a very weak argument. First of all, washing is supposed to be performed
while the body is covered with a sheet. Secondly, even if their argument
stood for washing a body, it would be understood as merely a concession
to facilitate washing. It could not be applied to a living woman who has
no reason to expose what is above her navel and below her knees.
Conclusion
The strongest of the two opinions is that a woman may only reveal to
other women that which was customary for women to display at the time
the Qur’ân was revealed. It is not sufficient for her to conceal only
what is between her navel and her knees. This was clearly the practice
at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the practice of the
earliest generations of Muslims.
We know that some of the male Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon
him) reported having seen the Prophet’s shins, his underarms, and even
his upper stomach and lower thighs.
By contrast, the female Companions, in their dealings with one another
and their close family members, report seeing merely body parts like the
head, hair, and ears of other women. It is authentically related, for
instance, that female Companions combed one another’s hair,
necessitating that they looked at each other’s hair. It has never been
related even once that any of these women ever appeared before other
women concealing nothing but what was below their navels and above their
knees. |
