The Ruling on Women Letting Their Garments Trail and Exposing Their Faces
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The jingling of jewelry, or displaying the ankles, or something similar? This is one of the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Or displaying the jewelry on her arms, or on her fingers, or on her palms; all of this is one of the causes of fitnah?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. I heard from some of my female friends that it is not permissible for women to wear the iqbal (a type of garment). That is her statement: that the hijab or the garment has become very long, meaning it covers the legs and so on, and that this is considered among those about whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah does not purify them, nor does He look at them, and for them is a severe punishment. Is this correct?
The Shaykh:
This is a great error, because the prohibition of isbal (letting a garment hang below the ankles) is specifically for men. As for women, they are required to cover their foreheads, their feet, and their heels. Therefore, it is permitted for a woman to let her garment trail behind her by the length of her chest or the length of her arm, according to need, in order to cover her heels. This is not considered isbal, because the forbidden isbal is a characteristic of men. But unfortunately, in societies that do not adhere to Islam but merely claim it—let alone the societies of disbelievers—the situation has been reversed. Men have started letting their garments trail and dragging them on the ground, while women have started exposing their shoulders or their calves, and exposing their private parts. So the situation has been reversed: men are letting their garments trail, and women are following the desires of their Shaytan (Satan) and their claims, and so on. For Shaytan wants to cause fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) through this; he wants to cause fitnah and lead the children of Adam astray, except those whom Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has shown mercy to.
The jingling of jewelry, or displaying the ankles, or something similar? This is one of the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Or displaying the jewelry on her arms, or on her fingers, or on her palms; all of this is one of the causes of fitnah?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. I heard from some of my female friends that it is not permissible for women to wear the iqbal (a type of garment). That is her statement: that the hijab or the garment has become very long, meaning it covers the legs and so on, and that this is considered among those about whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah does not purify them, nor does He look at them, and for them is a severe punishment. Is this correct?
The Shaykh:
This is a great error, because the prohibition of isbal (letting a garment hang below the ankles) is specifically for men. As for women, they are required to cover their foreheads, their feet, and their heels. Therefore, it is permitted for a woman to let her garment trail behind her by the length of her chest or the length of her arm, according to need, in order to cover her heels. This is not considered isbal, because the forbidden isbal is a characteristic of men. But unfortunately, in societies that do not adhere to Islam but merely claim it—let alone the societies of disbelievers—the situation has been reversed. Men have started letting their garments trail and dragging them on the ground, while women have started exposing their shoulders or their calves, and exposing their private parts. So the situation has been reversed: men are letting their garments trail, and women are following the desires of their Shaytan (Satan) and their claims, and so on. For Shaytan wants to cause fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) through this; he wants to cause fitnah and lead the children of Adam astray, except those whom Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has shown mercy to.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 01/104 — archive.org (15:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.