Explaining what a woman is permitted to reveal to her mahrams and what she is permitted to reveal to non-mahrams.

The Shaykh : As for what is other than adornment, it is forbidden , . The jilbab is what covers the woman's body, except for the face and the two hands only. This prohibition is limited in the minds [of people]; it is not permissible for a woman to reveal to non-mahrams anything except the face and the two hands. Then our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) permitted, as a dispensation for the woman regarding her relationship with her mahrams and her women, saying: . So the original rule is that the woman is entirely 'awrah, so it is not permissible for her, with regard to non-mahrams, to reveal anything except the face and the two hands. And with regard to mahrams, the face and the two hands are, of course, in addition to the places of adornment , meaning the places of adornment. And this explanation must be kept in mind by you , meaning the places of adornment. The intention is not the adornment itself, its substance, and its essence; otherwise, we would end up with an interpretation ... of the Shari'ah. A woman, for example, is wearing a disc here, so this is adornment. If she is not wearing this disc, there is nothing for the non-mahram man to see other than the adornment itself. The intention is not the places of adornment. So whether there is adornment there or not, it is not permissible to reveal either the place of adornment or the adornment in the place itself ... . So what are the places of adornment? The head and what it contains. There are the discs, and there are the combs that are placed on the hair, for example, and there is the braid, which may be long or short, and so on. This is among the places of adornment. And among the places of adornment is the place of the bracelets, and what is usually placed on the upper arm on the day this verse was revealed. Perhaps the armlet is among the places of adornment. And also the anklets . What is this adornment? The anklets were placed above the heels. The woman would walk to attract the attention of the men around her, and she would intentionally strike her feet on the ground to move the bells located there, producing a specific sound. So this is also a place of adornment. And the meaning of all this is that it is permissible for the woman to reveal these places of adornment before her mahrams, and more than that is not permissible. The mahrams are, with regard to more than the places of adornment, exactly like non-mahrams. And from this, it becomes clear to us that a sister, for example, living with her brother while revealing her lower legs, her calves, let alone some of her thighs, this is forbidden by the consensus of all Muslims and contrary to the text of the Qur'an. A sister lives with her brother while revealing her arm, and the shirt may be open from the back to such an extent that something below the neck is revealed—(peace be upon you)—this is also not permissible. All of this is 'awrah, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) only excepted the places of adornment. Does it occur to anyone, men or women, that the upper arm here is among the places of adornment, like the head and the shoulder? No. Does it occur to anyone that the calf of the leg, or even the thighs, are among the places of adornment? No one knows that these are places of adornment, let alone reveal them. Perhaps everything might be revealed through the people of the woman's household. She enters the bathroom and asks her daughter to rub her back, and she is unaware that this is forbidden, on the pretext that there is no stranger present ... This is contrary to the Shari'ah and contrary to this Qur'anic text that made the woman entirely 'awrah. And it excepted, with regard to non-mahrams, as we said earlier, the face and the two hands. And the face only, not the face and something else, not the face and something of the neck, but only the face itself. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified this in explaining His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . He clarified it by saying (peace and blessings be upon him): only. So this is what is excepted from the woman's 'awrah, that it is permissible for her to reveal it before non-mahrams. And this is in the category of permissibility, as we said earlier. But the better is that nothing of the woman be seen at all, not the face and not the two hands. But thank Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that you found this dispensation, so that you are not all sinful because of revealing the face and the two hands. This hadith is clearer, so he said . This is in the way of permissibility.
Likewise, in the way of permissibility with regard to mahrams, he said: to the end of the verse. What is the adornment? What are its places? What are the places of adornment? Of course, the waist is not among the places of adornment. The back is not among the places of adornment. The thighs are not among the places of adornment. So what is the matter with Muslims today, and Muslim women, some of whom are religious and wear the jilbab, that they are lenient in their homes and reveal from their 'awrah what Allah has forbidden them? This is a reminder on the occasion of this good report from Imam al-Hasan, where he said: "If you can not see anything of a woman's hair, except that she is your family, your wife, or a small girl who cannot be tempted by, usually, then do so." Meaning, do not look at the hair of women at all, except the hair of your wife. This is in the category of what is better. Otherwise, do not look except at the hair of mahrams who are from your family. And this is the last thing permissible for a man to look at from mahrams; he only looks at what Allah has permitted the man to look at, and among that is the hair. But the better is not to look even at mahrams, except the wife. And this better practice reminds us of something we knew until recently: the woman in her home would sit the whole time wearing the khimar. This exposure, even in the homes, was never known among the households of Muslims. That is because the woman is required to have modesty and dignity. Then she may be compelled to peek out for an occasion, from her door, from any place, when she is not wearing the khimar, she may be seen by someone she does not see. And this happens often. So she must be cautious for herself, veiled in the middle of the house with the khimar. In that case, if she peeks out with her head, there is no harm on her from this glance.
So there is, as the scholars say, a fatwa and a practice of wara' (scrupulousness). The fatwa is that it is permissible for the woman to live in her home with her mahrams, with her sons, with her daughters, within the limits of the previous verse: . She reveals the head, the arms, and some of the upper arm ... and some of the legs with the feet. This is all that is permissible for her to reveal before mahrams, and this is the fatwa. As for wara', she is always veiled in the house, as if she knows that there is a stranger living with her, because that is safer for her. But this is not obligatory. So we said there is wara' and there is a fatwa. The fatwa is that she uncovers to the extent previously mentioned: she reveals her feet and some of her legs, and her arms, especially at her feet during wudu' and the like, and her head and some of her neck and some of her chest. This is all that is permissible for her. The fatwa is that she covers herself as much as she is able to do so.