Some women wear clothes that are slit from the bottom or open at the chest, or that reveal part of the arms; what is the ruling on that, and what is the ruling on wearing clothes slit from the bottom to the knee?
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The questioner : The questioner from Riyadh, Ibrahim Abu Hamid, says: Some women wear clothes that are slit from the bottom or open at the chest, or that reveal part of the arms. What is the ruling on that, and what is the ruling on women wearing clothes slit from the bottom to the knee, where the garment is transparent? Please inform us of this.
The Shaykh : First, it must be known that it is obligatory for a woman to cover herself and to have modesty, and she is prohibited from tabarruj, which is displaying beauty through clothing or other means. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Al-Ahzab 33:33] This indicates the condemnation of tabarruj, where Allah Blessed and Exalted is He attributed it to the tabarruj of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. And everything attributed to the pre-Islamic age of ignorance is blameworthy ignorance. So these clothes are examined: if they are considered tabarruj that leads to fitnah, then they are prohibited and wearing them is forbidden. But if they do not constitute tabarruj, we look at them from another angle: do these clothes resemble what men wear, such as jackets and the like? If so, they are forbidden from this aspect, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.
Then I offer advice to our women and to their guardians not to chase every new thing. Whenever a fashion comes, they rush to it, whether it is jewelry, outer clothing, or undergarments. For in that lies enriching factories that may belong to non-Muslims, and in that also lies exhausting the finances of the husband if she is married, or her own finances if she is not married, or the finances of her father or whoever is obligated to provide for her.
And it is well known that if merchants see women engrossed in every new fashion, they will change the fashions from one time to another, close in time, in order to make a profit.
And this is a general economic issue that should be looked at seriously, not only from the side of the country's officials in general, but also from the side of those responsible for women specifically, such as the head of the household, for he is responsible for his dependents. Then, in chasing these fashions, there is frequent going out of women to the markets to see what is new in these fashions, resulting in women frequently circulating in the markets, and perhaps exposing themselves to fitnah or exposing others to fitnah.
Then there is a harm added to what has been mentioned, which is that these fashions may be easy to obtain for those whom Allah has enriched, but difficult for those whom Allah has restricted in provision. So the heart is broken when a woman sees her companion wearing this clothing while she remains in her old clothing.
So my advice to my sisters and to their male guardians is to pay attention to this issue. And success is from Allah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : First, it must be known that it is obligatory for a woman to cover herself and to have modesty, and she is prohibited from tabarruj, which is displaying beauty through clothing or other means. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:
and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance
وَلا تَبَرَّجنَ تَبَرُّجَ الجاهِلِيَّةِ الأولىThen I offer advice to our women and to their guardians not to chase every new thing. Whenever a fashion comes, they rush to it, whether it is jewelry, outer clothing, or undergarments. For in that lies enriching factories that may belong to non-Muslims, and in that also lies exhausting the finances of the husband if she is married, or her own finances if she is not married, or the finances of her father or whoever is obligated to provide for her.
And it is well known that if merchants see women engrossed in every new fashion, they will change the fashions from one time to another, close in time, in order to make a profit.
And this is a general economic issue that should be looked at seriously, not only from the side of the country's officials in general, but also from the side of those responsible for women specifically, such as the head of the household, for he is responsible for his dependents. Then, in chasing these fashions, there is frequent going out of women to the markets to see what is new in these fashions, resulting in women frequently circulating in the markets, and perhaps exposing themselves to fitnah or exposing others to fitnah.
Then there is a harm added to what has been mentioned, which is that these fashions may be easy to obtain for those whom Allah has enriched, but difficult for those whom Allah has restricted in provision. So the heart is broken when a woman sees her companion wearing this clothing while she remains in her old clothing.
So my advice to my sisters and to their male guardians is to pay attention to this issue. And success is from Allah.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.