Is the hadith of Aisha looking at the Abyssinians playing in the mosque used as evidence for the permissibility of women looking at non-mahram men? Or is it specific to the Mother of the Believers?

The questioner : It is said: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to look at the Abyssinians as they were in the mosque dueling. Some scholars restricted this to Aisha and said: "One like the Mother of the Believers." Others used it as evidence for the permissibility of women looking at men. Likewise, from the hadith: ?

The Shaykh : Yes, the claim that this is a matter specific to Aisha requires evidence. The matter is as it has been said:
"And claims, unless you establish for them *** clear proofs, their claimants are claimants."
The principle in every piece of evidence indicating the permissibility of something related to a Muslim person, whether that person is male or female, is that all people are equal, except where specific evidence indicates that this ruling is specific to that person. Here, there is absolutely nothing of that. That is, there is no evidence that the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) permission for Lady Aisha to look at the Abyssinians playing with spears in the mosque is specific to Lady Aisha. This would mean that if Umm Salama, who is also the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), came, she would not be allowed, because this ruling is specific to Aisha! This is speculation about the unseen, and it is not permissible, especially since it contradicts the principle I mentioned earlier. Every ruling that relates to a person extends to all persons except by specific evidence. Then, there is what indicates from the question itself and elsewhere that this ruling extends to other than Aisha, which is the story of Umm Iyad, what is it...

The questioner : Fatimah bint Qays.

The Shaykh : Fatimah bint Qays: her husband had divorced her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to stay with a woman from the emigrant women, then he (peace be upon him) said: Yes, to Ibn...

The questioner : Ibn Umm Maktum.

The Shaykh : The blind man, . This contains evidence that this blind man, as long as he does not see her, and she has uncovered her head by removing her head covering, she naturally sees him. So this is evidence that if the sight is not of the second glance, there is no problem with its permissibility. The Qur'an confirms this with precise Arabic expression; namely His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): , and in contrast He said: . The point is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), by His perfect wisdom and the ease of His beautiful Shari'ah, did not say to women and men together "lower your gazes," but rather He said: . Scholars call this a partitive phrase, meaning: lower some of your gazes, but do not lower some of your gazes. This is because life cannot be straightened out with a man lowering his gaze, walking in the road with his gaze lowered. He must look to the right and left, and so on. Likewise, a woman cannot walk in the road with her gaze lowered. Rather, each of the two sexes walks while lowering some of their gaze. This is from the eloquence of the Qur'an: . Then the hadith, as it came in the hadith of Ali which we mentioned earlier: , and the hadith of Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali which Imam Muslim narrated in his "Sahih" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the sudden glance, so he said: . What is meant by the sudden glance? That is a glance that falls from a man on a woman where it is not permissible for him to see what he saw, so he must immediately avert his gaze. As for lowering the gaze absolutely, this is in reality from the category of commanding what is not possible. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says in the clear Qur'an: . Give us the signal to start, O Abu Abdillah, so that our brother Abu Abd al-Rahman can catch up with his lesson.

The questioner : Five minutes, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Five minutes.