Ruling on a woman uncovering her head in front of her daughter’s husband

Question:
The questioner (M. M. A.) from Riyadh says: My wife’s mother sometimes, when my wife and I go to visit her at her home, greets me, and she is not wearing a head covering, even though she is a Muslim woman who is careful to perform the five daily prayers and to observe the Islamic Shari'ah and Islamic etiquette. So, if she appears before me at times without a head covering, does she sin by doing so?

Answer:
The correct view is that she does not sin; because she is a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to you, your wife’s mother. However, if she covers her head, that is more cautious and better, in order to avoid the disagreement of those who consider it forbidden to show the head to a mahram. The most apparent view in the Islamic evidence is that it is not forbidden for a mahram to see the head of his sister through breastfeeding, or the head of his wife’s mother, or his wife’s grandmother. The correct view is that there is no harm in that. But if she covers it out of modesty and to avoid the disagreement, that is good, if Allah wills.

The presenter : Very well, may Allah reward you with good, Your Eminence.