What is the ruling on a woman wearing pants?

The questioner :, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The Shaykh : O Lord of the worlds.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh, and benefit us with your knowledge. The questioner asks: What is the ruling on a woman wearing pants?

The Shaykh : Yes, in my view, a woman wearing pants is prohibited in all circumstances, whether at home with her husband, with other women, or when she goes out. This is not because it fails to cover the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), but because it is imitating men. A woman is prohibited from imitating men, whether in clothing, appearance, walking, or speech. This is because we must distinguish between those whom Allah has distinguished in nature and in the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). Many obligations in the Shari'ah differ between men and women.
As for their difference in nature, the matter is clearer than it needs to be explained. The difference between a woman and a man is very clear: the voice differs, strength and endurance differ, and intellect and thinking differ in every respect. For this reason, jihad (struggle in the path of Allah) is obligatory for men and not for women. Aisha said, "O Messenger of Allah, is there jihad for women?" He said, Men are those who handle the judiciary, the governance, and the leadership. It is not possible for any woman to be a leader over men. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, As for being a leader over her peers, there is no harm, such as a woman being the head of a school or a manager or the like. But over men, it is not possible, because if we made a woman the leader of men, we would turn the situation upside down. Indeed, Allah says, and women are not managers over men. Therefore, because a woman differs from a man in her nature, creation, appearance, and all her conditions, except what Allah wills, they must differ in clothing. Listen to the curse of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): No one should try to equate men and women except one who does not know the Shari'ah of Allah. As for one who knows the Shari'ah of Allah and knows the wisdom of Allah the Exalted in what He created, he will never try to equate the man and the woman. But the disbelievers, due to the inversion of their fitrah (innate natural disposition) and their contradiction of the laws of Allah, placed the woman ahead of the man, even in address. You find them in their broadcasts saying, "What? My ladies and my gentlemen? May Allah kill you! You place women ahead of men?" Men are placed ahead of women in the Book of Allah the Glorious and in the creation of Allah, Exalted is He. And you say, "My ladies and my gentlemen." But because they were tried in this world and saw that this world is luxury, amusement, and play, and women are undoubtedly amusement, they placed women ahead of men. This is from one angle. From another angle, they want to mislead the Muslims so that they are tempted by women and see them as being above them. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, And the trial of the Children of Israel was in women. Therefore, we say that a woman is prohibited from wearing pants, whether she is with her husband, with women, or in the markets. Because pants are a characteristic of men's clothing, and a woman wearing them is imitating men. As for wearing trousers, there is no harm if she wears trousers and wears a garment over them; there is no harm in that, and no one says to prohibit this. But pants are for men. So wearing trousers is permissible, but on the condition that she wears a garment over them, and that the trousers are not of the same type as men's trousers. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you,