The Limits of a Woman's 'Awrah (Part of the Body That Must Be Covered) in Front of Another Woman
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
I ask Allah to do you good, Honorable Shaykh. More than one question has come in regarding a custom that has spread among women, especially in gatherings and occasions,
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
a custom that has appeared among women, especially in gatherings and occasions, of displaying the entire hand, the leg, the chest, and the back, based on a fatwa that a woman's 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in front of a woman is from the navel to the knee. Is this statement correct? And is there any evidence that a woman's 'awrah in front of a woman is from the navel to the knee?
The Shaykh:
No, this statement is not correct, and it is not permissible to announce it to the people. Whoever announces it to the people has erred. It is not permissible to announce this statement because there is no evidence for it. A woman in front of women does not display anything except what is customary to reveal, such as the face, the hands, and the feet. As for anything other than that, it is not permissible for her to display it in front of women.
And Allah placed women with the mahram (a relative one may not marry) in His saying, the Exalted:[An-Nur 24:31].
Or women, so women are counted with the mahram. Just as it is not permissible for her to display in front of the mahram anything other than the extremities, so it is not permissible for her to display in front of women anything other than the extremities. This is what the noble verse indicates: that Allah equated women with the mahram. A woman does not display to her mahram what she does not display to her mahram, except from the navel to the knee. Is it permissible for a woman to display to her mahram what she is required to cover from the navel to the knee? What does this say? And peace be upon you.
Likewise, the non-mahram woman, I mean, is like the mahram; she does not display in front of her except what she displays in front of the mahram. This is by the text of the noble verse. As for the one who says her 'awrah with women is like what is between the navel and the knee, this is a batil (invalid) statement and there is no evidence for it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
I ask Allah to do you good, Honorable Shaykh. More than one question has come in regarding a custom that has spread among women, especially in gatherings and occasions,
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
a custom that has appeared among women, especially in gatherings and occasions, of displaying the entire hand, the leg, the chest, and the back, based on a fatwa that a woman's 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in front of a woman is from the navel to the knee. Is this statement correct? And is there any evidence that a woman's 'awrah in front of a woman is from the navel to the knee?
The Shaykh:
No, this statement is not correct, and it is not permissible to announce it to the people. Whoever announces it to the people has erred. It is not permissible to announce this statement because there is no evidence for it. A woman in front of women does not display anything except what is customary to reveal, such as the face, the hands, and the feet. As for anything other than that, it is not permissible for her to display it in front of women.
And Allah placed women with the mahram (a relative one may not marry) in His saying, the Exalted:
except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons
وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّOr women, so women are counted with the mahram. Just as it is not permissible for her to display in front of the mahram anything other than the extremities, so it is not permissible for her to display in front of women anything other than the extremities. This is what the noble verse indicates: that Allah equated women with the mahram. A woman does not display to her mahram what she does not display to her mahram, except from the navel to the knee. Is it permissible for a woman to display to her mahram what she is required to cover from the navel to the knee? What does this say? And peace be upon you.
Likewise, the non-mahram woman, I mean, is like the mahram; she does not display in front of her except what she displays in front of the mahram. This is by the text of the noble verse. As for the one who says her 'awrah with women is like what is between the navel and the knee, this is a batil (invalid) statement and there is no evidence for it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفرقة الناجية [ القصيدة النونية ] [ صالح الفوزان ]، فصل : في تلاعب المكفرين لأهل السنة والإيمان بالدين كتلاعب الصبيان — islamhouse.com (1:12:25)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.