Refuting Some Schools of Jurisprudence Regarding the Definition of the Muslim Woman's Awrah

The Shaykh : It is also stated in the same school of jurisprudence that expanded the dispensation for a woman to reveal a large part of her body before her mahrams (relatives one may not marry) that the awrah of a female slave, in relation to a man, is like the awrah of a man. This means it is permissible for a slave woman, even if she has embraced Islam while still in a state of slavery, to appear before men as a man appears before men. Even if she is a Roman slave girl, one of the most beautiful of what Allah has created—I say "Roman" because the Arabs believe that beauty is confined to Roman women—this text appears in some schools of jurisprudence: the beautiful slave girl, because she is a slave, has an awrah before men, not just before women, that is like the awrah of a man before a man. Based on this, they ruled that there is no objection to looking at her, because what is visible of her is not awrah. May Allah have mercy on Imam Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm, who said: "What is the difference between the beautiful free woman, whose awrah is as we have previously explained, and the beautiful slave girl?" Her awrah is from the navel to the knee, and human nature is one. Just as a man is captivated by a free woman when he looks at her awrah, so is he captivated by a slave woman when he looks at her. I wanted to draw attention to the fact that some books contain statements and opinions that, at first glance and without straining the mind or thought, appear to be things that cannot be attributed to Islam. Therefore, Muslim women must not be lax in revealing anything other than the places of adornment we mentioned before their mahrams, let alone the indecency that has become widespread in the present age in many Muslim households, where a sister sits before her sister with her leg placed on her thigh, and her thigh is exposed before her sister, and even before her brother and her father. Now, you have expanded the topic of awrah, or rather narrowed it, by saying it is from the navel to the knee. So why this indecency and this laxity in revealing the thigh, which is awrah by the consensus of Muslims, before the father and other mahrams? This is a trial that many women have faced. They should fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in themselves, so that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) may inspire their husbands to treat them with the best of care, not to wrong them, and not to take advantage of their weakness and femininity. I see that the time is nearly up, so we will stop here. Perhaps we will be able to meet with you again on another occasion, if Allah wills. And may peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you.