IRSYAD AL-FATWA SERIES 140 : THE RULING ON WOMEN’S FASHION

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Question:

Assalamualaikum, what is the opinions of contemporary scholars regarding the ruling of wearing clothes that keeps up with current trends?

Answer:

Waalaikumussalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Thank you for asking. Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the many countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.

In Islam, any type of clothing worn must be in accordance with syarak, regardless of the trends. The guideline set in Islam regarding clothing are as follows:

  1. Covers the aurah

 

The aurah of woman is her whole body except the face and her hands (palms up to her wrists). Al-Qadhi ‘Iyadh in al-Ikmal wrote that the consensus of Islamic scholars state that it is permissible for a woman to go out without covering her face while it is obligatory for a man to lower his gaze. Other scholars that state the same consensus as Al-Qadhi ‘Iyadh are as follows:

While the aurah for men is between the navel and the knees.

  1. Avoid covering some parts of the aurah and revealing other parts of aurah

Aurah should be covered completely and it is prohibited to cover some of the aurah while revealing other parts of the aurah.

The Prophet PBUH said:

 صِنْفَانِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ لَمْ أَرَهُمَا : قَوْمٌ مَعَهُمْ سِيَاطٌ كَأَذْنَابِ الْبَقَرِ يَضْرِبُونَ بِهَا النَّاسَ ، وَنِسَاءٌ كَاسِيَاتٌ عَارِيَاتٌ ، مُمِيلاَتٌ مَائِلاَتٌ ، رُءُوسُهُنَّ كَأَسْنِمَةِ الْبُخْتِ الْمَائِلَةِ ، لاَ يَدْخُلْنَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلاَ يَجِدْنَ رِيحَهَا ، وَإِنَّ رِيحَهَا لَيُوجَدُ مِنْ مَسِيرَةِ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“Two are the types of the denizens of Hell whom I did not see: people having flogs like the tails of the ox with them and they would be beating people, and the women who would be dressed but appear to be naked, who would be inclined (to evil) and make their husbands incline towards it. Their heads would be like the humps of the bukht camel inclined to one side. They will not enter Paradise and they would not smell its odour whereas its odour would be smelt from such and such distance.”

Sahih Muslim (5098)

The above hadith did not just explain about women that did not cover their aurah completely, but they are described as among the people that encourage others towards evil (adultery).

  1. Not wearing any clothing that are too thin that the skin colour becomes visible (translucent or see-through clothing)

 

According to al-Hafiz al-Murtadha al-Zaida in his book Sadah al-Muttaqin, volume 3/134:

The aurah of a free woman is her whole body except for her face and her hands, starting from her fingers up to her wrists.” He further states:

The condition of covering the aurah is to wear something that prevents the skin colour from being visible and not to prevent body shape from being seen, (for some humans especially for the full-bodied man or woman, it would be impossible to avoid the body shape from being visible). Thus, it is not enough to wear thin (see-through) clothing or torn or ripped clothing for the skin colour can still be visible through the slits of the clothing. The same goes if someone wears glass that made the skin colour visible, for it does not fulfil the purpose of covering the aurah. However, if the body shape is visible, it is makruh (undesirable) for women while the ruling for men is khilaf al-aula. This is the opinion of al-Mawardi and others.

  1. Not wearing clothing that are too tight that the body shape is visible

 

Islamic scholars ruled it makruh for women and khilaf al-Aula (not prioritized) for men to wear tight clothing. Syeikh al-Islam Zakaria al-Ansari states:


لا يَكْفِي سُتْرَةٌ تَحْكِي اللَّوْنَ أَيْ لَوْنَ الْبَشَرَةِ أَيْ تَصِفُهُ بِمَعْنَى يَصِفُهُ النَّاظِرُ من وَرَائِهَا كَمُهَلْهَلٍ لَا يَمْنَعُ إدْرَاكَ اللَّوْنِ لِأَنَّ مَقْصُودَ السَّتْرِ لَا يَحْصُلُ بِذَلِكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّ هَا بَعْدَ سَتْرِهَا اللَّوْنَ أَنْ تَحْكِيَ الْحَجْمَ لَكِنَّهُ لِلْمَرْأَةِ مَكْرُوهٌ وَلِلرَّجُلِ خِلَافُ الْأَوْلَى قَالَهُ الْمَاوَرْدِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ

It is not enough to cover the aurah if the skin colour of someone is still visible through it (see-through) or through the torn or ripped part of the clothing, for the purpose of covering the aurah is unfulfilled until it is completely covered. It is unharmful (permissible) if the clothing has covered the aurah (the skin color is not visible) even if the body shape is still visible, but it is ruled makruh for women and khilaf al-Aula for men. This is stated by Imam al-Mawardi and other scholars.” Refer Asna al-Mathalib, 1/176

This is affirmed by numerous scholars such as al-Ruyani in his book al-Bahr al-Mazhab pg. 122, Syamsuddin al-Ramli in Nihayah al-Muhtaj, volume 2 pg. 6, Ibn Hajar al-Haitami in Minhaj al-Qawim volume 1 pg. 186, al-Dimyathi in Hasyiah I’anah al-Thalibin, volume 1 pg. 113, Syeikh Muhammad al-Ulaisy al-Maliki in Minah al-Jalil Syarh Mukhtasar Khalil, volume 1 pg. 226, al-Baji al-Maliki in al-Muntaqa Syarh al-Muwattha`, volume 1 pg. 251, Syeikh al-Buhuti al-Hanbali in Kassyaf al-Qina’ volume 1 pg. 276, Syeikh Abdul al-Qadir al-Rafi’e in al-Tahrir al-Mukhtar li Rad al-Mukhtar, volume 2 pg. 307, ‘Ala al-Din al-Mawardi al-Hanbali in his book al-Insaf, volume 1 pg. 449, Ibn Hibban in his book al-Ihsan, volume 3 pg. 317 and others.

  1. Not embellished or scented with the purpose of attracting the attention of men.

Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim, al-Nasa’i, and al-Baihaqi narrated that it is makruh for women to wear perfumes, while it is also narrated by Abu Dawud from Abi Musa al-‘Asy’ari straight from the Prophet PBUH, where the Prophet PBUH said:

أيما امرأة استعطرت فمرت على قوم ليجدوا ريحها فهي زانية

“Any woman who puts on perfume then passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance then she is an adulteress.”

Al-Tirmizi stated that it is makruh for women to wear perfume to go out, in accordance to a hadith from Abi Musa al-‘Asy’ari from the Prophet PBUH, the Prophet PBUH said:

كُلُّ عَيْنٍ زَانِيَةٌ ، وَالْمَرْأَةُ إِذَا اسْتَعْطَرَتْ فَمَرَّتْ بِالْمَجْلِسِ فَهِيَ كَذَا وَكَذَا - يَعْنِي زَانِيَةً

“For every eyes (most) eyes commits adultery. If a woman wears perfume and went through an event for so and so, she is an adulterer.” It is prohibited for her to showcase herself towards men.

  1. Headscarf must cover chest area

It is best for a woman to make sure her headscarf covers her chest area and it is encouraged for her to cover more than the sanctioned aurah for her.

Thus, any clothing that fulfils the above stated criteria, whether it an old trend or a current trend is permissible.

Wallahu a’lam.