The woman's 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry)
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Your Eminence! What is the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a woman in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry)? Does the back or the chest fall under the category of 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) or not? Please inform us! May Allah reward you with good.
First: May Allah bless you. We must know that there is a difference between our saying: What is the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?And between our saying: And what is the clothing that is prescribed for a woman to wear, so that there is no confusion between the two matters.
The clothing that is prescribed for a woman to wear: It should be comprehensive for the entire body, except for the head, hands, and feet, in the case of mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives. This is what is prescribed.
As for the issue of 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered): So, the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a woman in the presence of a woman is like the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a man in the presence of a man, meaning: what is between the navel and the knee. But this does not mean that it is permissible for a woman to go out among women wearing only a skirt down to the knee and up to the navel. No one says this.Meaning: Anyone who says this is misguided.But the meaning: If a woman is wearing comprehensive clothing and needs to expose her arms for work, or due to an illness in the arm, or something similar, or if she wants to breastfeed her child in front of women and exposes the breast in front of women, there is no harm.
So, there is a difference between the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) and the prescribed clothing. What is prescribed for women is that their clothing be comprehensive, and it is permissible for her to expose her head, face, neck, hands, and even her arms, feet, and legs in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives;But that does not mean that we say: She wears a short dress in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives. No.
That is a different matter. But if, for example, she lifted her dress out of necessity and her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives were in front of her and her leg was exposed, there is no harm.
First: May Allah bless you. We must know that there is a difference between our saying: What is the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?And between our saying: And what is the clothing that is prescribed for a woman to wear, so that there is no confusion between the two matters.
The clothing that is prescribed for a woman to wear: It should be comprehensive for the entire body, except for the head, hands, and feet, in the case of mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives. This is what is prescribed.
As for the issue of 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered): So, the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a woman in the presence of a woman is like the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a man in the presence of a man, meaning: what is between the navel and the knee. But this does not mean that it is permissible for a woman to go out among women wearing only a skirt down to the knee and up to the navel. No one says this.Meaning: Anyone who says this is misguided.But the meaning: If a woman is wearing comprehensive clothing and needs to expose her arms for work, or due to an illness in the arm, or something similar, or if she wants to breastfeed her child in front of women and exposes the breast in front of women, there is no harm.
So, there is a difference between the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) and the prescribed clothing. What is prescribed for women is that their clothing be comprehensive, and it is permissible for her to expose her head, face, neck, hands, and even her arms, feet, and legs in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives;But that does not mean that we say: She wears a short dress in the presence of her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives. No.
That is a different matter. But if, for example, she lifted her dress out of necessity and her mahram (a relative one may not marry) relatives were in front of her and her leg was exposed, there is no harm.