Tafsir of the saying of Allah the Exalted: << . . . . or their wives, or what their right hands possess, or the male followers who have no desire for women, or children who have not

Allah the Exalted said: Regarding "and their wives" here, the exegetes differed. Some said that the genitive construction is for the species, while others said it is for the kind. Those who said it is for the species stated that the meaning of "their wives" is the believing women, and therefore He said, "And say to the believing women..." Or the meaning of "their wives" is whoever is of their species, so the genitive is of the type of attributing a thing to its species, meaning the women of the believers. Some said it is of the type of attributing to the kind, meaning that the women are attributed to them by virtue of the kind, meaning the women who are of their kind... So according to the first opinion, it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to display her adornment to a disbeliever. Why? Because she is not of her species, so it is not permissible to display it to her. And because the reality is that the disbeliever is not trustworthy; she may incite the sinners and disbelievers if she wants to adorn herself, boast, and display the adornment.
The second opinion is that the meaning of "their wives" is what? The kind, meaning the women who are of their kind. Accordingly, it is permissible for a woman to display what is hidden of her adornment to all women, whether believers or non-believers. This is the closest view. The possibility that this disbeliever woman may incite the sinners and disbelievers is a valid concern, but this possibility also exists with Muslim women. That is, a Muslim woman who is not a believer in the sense of [the specific group] here might also do that. And these matters are, in fact, very delicate and may occur even among women with one another. Therefore, lesbianism among women exists. Why? Because a woman loves a woman and attaches to her as a man attaches to a woman, and this occurs from her... In any case, regarding "their wives," I say that the exegetes differed on whether the genitive is for the kind or the species. If we say it is for the kind, the meaning is women, attributed to this by virtue of the kind, i.e., women like them. And if we say it is for the species, we say only the women of the believers. It is possible that the author addresses this.
It is permissible for him to look at her, except what is between the navel and the knee, for looking at that is forbidden for anyone other than spouses. The author proceeds on the basis that the meaning of "adornment" here is what Allah adorned the woman with. We say that those who excepted "what their right hands possess" are the slaves, and likewise the female slaves whom women possess. And the ownership must be complete. If she has a slave who is shared, it is not permissible for her to display her adornment to him. And what is the reason? Because she does not possess him, but only possesses a part of him. For this reason, it is not permissible for a man to take a shared female slave as a concubine if she is shared between him and another person; it is not permissible for him to take her as a concubine because she is not his property. Likewise, it is not permissible for a woman to display any of her hidden adornment to a slave who is shared between her and others. The companion in this case cannot be said to be her property, but rather he is shared. And it is not permissible for him to look at her except what is between the navel and the knee, for looking at that is forbidden for anyone other than spouses. The author proceeds on what we mentioned previously, that the meaning of "adornment" is what Allah adorned the woman with. He says that for these excepted people, it is permissible for a woman to display to them what is between the navel and the knee. This is according to an opinion, meaning, for example, it is permissible for a woman to display to her brothers, her brother's son, her sister's son, and her husband's son. It is permissible for her to display her chest, her belly, her breasts, and everything except what is between the navel and the knee. That is, it is permissible for her to come wearing a sarong so that her husband's son can see her, and the like. But this is questionable and involves great fitnah. If we said this was permissible, it would result in very great fitnah. A young woman, the wife of his son, would come to him in this manner. And let us suppose that he is also a young man. No one says this, but with this, my brothers, note that it is conditional on the absence of fitnah. That is, even according to the author's opinion, the absence of fitnah is required. If fitnah is not avoided, it is forbidden. But even if fitnah is avoided, this undoubtedly opens the door for her. Therefore, the correct view in this matter, regardless of whether this is what is intended by the verse or not, is that it is not permissible for a woman to expose herself to her mahrams except for what is customary, only. Because what is customary is not considered shameful and is not regarded as a matter of concern in our current custom. She exposes her hand, arm, leg, head, and neck; all of this is usually exposed to mahrams. Therefore, if she goes beyond this, people will find it objectionable.