The limit of the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) of a mature woman, and the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And they shall not display their adornment except to their husbands..." and the classification of adornment
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The Shaykh : First: Perhaps you all know that the ruling regarding mature women is derived from the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nur 24:31] until He said: , and this verse is preceded by another verse, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Nur 24:31]. The scholars—particularly the scholars of Qur'anic exegesis—based on these two verses divided the adornment of women into two categories: apparent adornment and hidden adornment.
Regarding apparent adornment: The exegetes and jurists differed on this, but the majority of scholars, both past and present, hold that the apparent adornment mentioned in the verse preceding the first verse we cited in our discussion:[An-Nur 24:31], meaning the face and the hands, is the apparent adornment.
It is permissible for a woman—it is permissible, not obligatory—to uncover her face and her hands when she goes to the market or to attend to her needs or sits with some people who are not her mahram (a relative one may not marry). This is what they call apparent adornment.
The other verse:[An-Nur 24:31] until He said at the end of the verse: . They call this hidden adornment. Why? Because it is not permissible for a woman to display this adornment to anyone other than the mahram (a relative one may not marry) mentioned in the context of the verse. Otherwise, the women mentioned at the end of the verse, and the intended meaning here of "women" according to the scholars of exegesis: "the believing Muslim women, not the disbelieving women".
Now, here it is necessary to point out a problem that Muslims are living with today in the lands of Islam, let alone in lands other than the lands of Islam. We find that many women do not apply this Qur'anic text, meaning: the hidden adornment. You find, for example, a sister sitting in front of her brother—and he is undoubtedly one of her mahram (a relative one may not marry)—and even in front of her father—and he is her father—but the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in this verse did not permit the Muslim woman to display from her hidden adornment or from her body, which is the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), except the hidden adornment.
The verse, whether the first or the other:[An-Nur 24:31], the intended meaning is: the places of adornment. Likewise, [An-Nur 24:31], the places of adornment. So if the researcher returns to the time of the revelation of this verse, what are the places of adornment to which our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—refers in the second verse, the verse of hidden adornment? They are, for example, the head and what it contains. Earrings are part of the hidden adornment, because it is not permissible for a woman to display them to non-mahram (a relative one may not marry), because this is behind the face, which is the apparent adornment. So, earrings, likewise necklaces, likewise the armlet which is on the upper arm where the bracelet is, likewise the anklets which they used to put on their feet. Our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—referred to them by His saying: [An-Nur 24:31], meaning: the anklets. These places, which are the abode of this adornment, are those which it is permissible for the Muslim woman to display in front of her mahram (a relative one may not marry), and consequently in front of her female counterparts, in front of women.
Therefore, it is not permissible for the Muslim woman to wear in front of her sister the loose shirt, the shirt that does not cover the shoulders except for the minimum, and from which the upper arms are exposed, and from which the armpits are exposed. It is forbidden (haram) for a woman, a girl, to display this in front of her daughter, and for a mother in front of her daughter, let alone in front of her sons. So it is not permissible for the Muslim woman to display anything of her body except the places of adornment, and you have come to know the places of adornment.
not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ ...Or their women
أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّnot expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَاRegarding apparent adornment: The exegetes and jurists differed on this, but the majority of scholars, both past and present, hold that the apparent adornment mentioned in the verse preceding the first verse we cited in our discussion:
not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَاIt is permissible for a woman—it is permissible, not obligatory—to uncover her face and her hands when she goes to the market or to attend to her needs or sits with some people who are not her mahram (a relative one may not marry). This is what they call apparent adornment.
The other verse:
not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ ...Or their women
أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّNow, here it is necessary to point out a problem that Muslims are living with today in the lands of Islam, let alone in lands other than the lands of Islam. We find that many women do not apply this Qur'anic text, meaning: the hidden adornment. You find, for example, a sister sitting in front of her brother—and he is undoubtedly one of her mahram (a relative one may not marry)—and even in front of her father—and he is her father—but the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in this verse did not permit the Muslim woman to display from her hidden adornment or from her body, which is the 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), except the hidden adornment.
The verse, whether the first or the other:
not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَاnot expose their adornment except to their husbands
وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّAnd let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment
وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّTherefore, it is not permissible for the Muslim woman to wear in front of her sister the loose shirt, the shirt that does not cover the shoulders except for the minimum, and from which the upper arms are exposed, and from which the armpits are exposed. It is forbidden (haram) for a woman, a girl, to display this in front of her daughter, and for a mother in front of her daughter, let alone in front of her sons. So it is not permissible for the Muslim woman to display anything of her body except the places of adornment, and you have come to know the places of adornment.