What is the fiqh of the hadith of the Sabi'iyah woman who adorned herself for the suitor, regarding the permissibility of presenting herself to the suitor and the limits of adornment a woman is allowed to display to the one proposing to her?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Question.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : A girl from the College of Sharia contacted me, and a doctor mentioned to them a hadith, I think the Sabi'iyah one or something like that.
The Shaykh : Which hadith?
The questioner : The Sabi'iyah woman, or that is the story of Abu al-Sanabil. It was reported in the hadith that she adorned herself for the suitor, and Abu al-Sanabil entered upon her. So she asked the doctor, and he did not answer her, so she asked the Shaykh. He said, in effect, wait for your opinion, which is that she adorned herself for the suitor. Does that mean she presented herself? For example, is it permissible for a woman to present herself to the suitor, and for them to enter and see her? And how did Abu al-Sanabil enter upon her? In some narrations, she is described as having kohl on. This is part of the adornment. So, regarding this matter?
The Shaykh : Kohl falls under the general meaning of His saying — the Exalted —:[An-Nur 24:31], and this supports our view that a woman’s face is not an awrah (part of the body that must be covered). This hadith is among the hadiths I cited regarding the hijab of the Muslim woman, and consequently regarding the jilbab (outer garment). Now, secondly: this hadith must be understood in light of the conditions established by the Shari'ah. For example, she adorned herself for the suitor, meaning that part of her adornment was combing her hair. Does this mean it occurs to the mind ofThe questioner : (female)or the responsible doctor, andThe Shaykh : the other responsible party, who is Shaykh Ahmad, that the intended meaning of this report is absolute adornment, absolute beautification? The answer is no, but rather within the limits of what is permissible for her. Among what is permissible for her is uncovering her face, even if she has kohl on her eyes. This is what was mentioned in the hadith in terms of specifying the type of adornment. So, if the hadith is understood in this narrow, limited, and Shari'ah-permitted sense, then there is no problem.
The questioner : Is it permissible for them, for example, to enter upon the woman, or for the woman to prepare herself, for example?
The Shaykh : Yes, they enter in the presence of, of course, mahrams. And this is what we always say when we are asked: Is it permissible for the suitor to see more of his fiancée than her face and hands? We say no, except secretly, except secretly. This means that if someone enters upon her, he does not enter secretly, but with her knowledge. In that case, she may have kohl on, and there is no harm in that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : A girl from the College of Sharia contacted me, and a doctor mentioned to them a hadith, I think the Sabi'iyah one or something like that.
The Shaykh : Which hadith?
The questioner : The Sabi'iyah woman, or that is the story of Abu al-Sanabil. It was reported in the hadith that she adorned herself for the suitor, and Abu al-Sanabil entered upon her. So she asked the doctor, and he did not answer her, so she asked the Shaykh. He said, in effect, wait for your opinion, which is that she adorned herself for the suitor. Does that mean she presented herself? For example, is it permissible for a woman to present herself to the suitor, and for them to enter and see her? And how did Abu al-Sanabil enter upon her? In some narrations, she is described as having kohl on. This is part of the adornment. So, regarding this matter?
The Shaykh : Kohl falls under the general meaning of His saying — the Exalted —:
not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof
وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَاThe questioner : Is it permissible for them, for example, to enter upon the woman, or for the woman to prepare herself, for example?
The Shaykh : Yes, they enter in the presence of, of course, mahrams. And this is what we always say when we are asked: Is it permissible for the suitor to see more of his fiancée than her face and hands? We say no, except secretly, except secretly. This means that if someone enters upon her, he does not enter secretly, but with her knowledge. In that case, she may have kohl on, and there is no harm in that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.