The Shaykh : And now we read to you the second report, and in it is a benefit that every Muslim man and woman must be aware of and act upon as much as they are able.

The Shaykh: And now we read to you the second report, and in it is a benefit that every Muslim man and woman must be aware of and act upon as much as they are able. This report is narrated by the Imam al-Bukhari in his book, which is al-Adab al-Mufrad, with his authentic chain of narration from al-Hasan, who is al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri, the great Imam of the Tabi'un, who is well known. Listen to what this noble man says, so that you may know how Muslims and Muslim women today live with one another, being far removed from Islamic etiquette. Al-Hasan al-Basri says: "If you can, do not look at the hair of any of your relatives, unless it is the hair of your wife or young children." "If you can, do not look at the hair of any of your relatives," meaning do not do it and do not look, "unless it is the hair of your wife or young children." This has two meanings: The first meaning: The minimum obligation for a man is that he does not look at the hair of a woman who is a stranger to him, unless she is from his household. The word "household" can be interpreted in two ways: "Household" meaning the wife, and this is, of course, lawful. It can also be interpreted in a broader sense, meaning the mahram relatives. Is there any issue with that?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh: If we interpret the term here to mean the wife, then al-Hasan al-Basri has restricted us from looking at the hair of a woman, even if she is one of our mahram relatives. This is all in the context of blocking the means to harm, not because it is forbidden. A man has certain matters and exceptions regarding his mahram relatives, as He, the Exalted, said: and so on. But the verse, in everything it conveys, is only about permissibility; that is, it is permissible for a man to look at the hair of his sister, for example, whether she is related by blood or by breastfeeding. But al-Hasan al-Basri, interpreting "household" to mean the wife, says: "If you can, do not look at the hair of any woman at all, then do so, except your wife," because you live with her. So, one of two things is taken from this report. One thing is essential, and it is a general ruling that must be observed between men and women: that an adult man does not look at a woman, or at her hair, as long as she is a stranger to him. As for if she is one of his mahram relatives, it is permissible for him to look at her hair, but it is better that she does not appear before him except wearing the head covering of prayer, even if she is a mahram. In this etiquette is a call to attention to the fact that we women today live in our homes in a non-Islamic manner, on the pretext that a person is free in his home, that he sits, undresses, and takes his freedom, especially in the days of summer. The answer is no; it is necessary to observe the limits, in which the masses of Muslims and Muslim women have been lax. A woman in her home must live within the limits as if there is a mahram present in the home with her constantly and always, such as a brother. It is not permissible for her to wear short clothes on the pretext that there is no stranger, because this brother is not allowed to see anything of his sister, and likewise all the mahram relatives of this woman are not allowed to see anything of the woman except the places of her adornment. And the places of her adornment are taken from the previous verse: "And they shall not display their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons" and so on to the end of the verse, and at the end it says: So our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, made women with women like a woman with one of her mahram relatives, such as her brother. What does a woman display before her mahram and before women in general, of her own sex? What this verse explicitly states is nothing but their adornment only, or or and so on.