The Dress of a Muslimah among other women

[This is transcribed from a lecture given by Dr. Saalih as-Saalih. You can find it under Muslim Life -> Women Issues -> FAQ]

Bismillaahi ar-Rahmaani ar-Rahiim. Alhamdulillaahi Rabbi-l-Aalameen Sallallaahu alaa Nabiyyinaa Muhammad wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.

Our Shaykh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen, rahimahullaah, was asked that there is a phenomena with some women and it is them wearing short dresses and tight dresses which exposes their features and some dresses without sleeves exposing the chest and the back and appearing almost naked and that when we advice them they say that they dont put such clothes except in the presence of other woman. And that the awrah of the woman with the women is from the navel to the knee. So what is the ruling regarding this and what is the ruling regarding these types of clothes with wearing them in the presence of Mahrams? May Allaah subhaanahu wa Taala reward you abundantly on the behalf of the Muslims and Muslimaat.

He, rahimahullaah, answered:

The answer for this is to say that it is authentically related from the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, to have said, Of the people of Hell there are two types whom I have never seen: The one possessing whips like the tail of an ox and they flog people with them. The second one the women who would be naked in spite of their being dressed, who are seduced to wrong paths and seduce others with their hair high like humps. These women would not get into Paradise and they would not perceive its odour, although its fragrance can be perceived from such and such distance. [ Saheeh Muslim Volume 4, hadeeth number 6840].

The people of knowledge interpreted the term dressed but naked as those women who put on tight clothes or light clothes which does not shield what is underneath or short clothes. And Shaykh al-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullaah, mentioned that the dress of woman in their homes at the time of the Prophet, alayhi-s-salaat was-salaam, was from the ankle (--) up all the way to the palm. All of this covered while in their homes. And that when they leave to the market it is known that the women of the Companions used to put on dresses that flow over their ends dragging on the earth and the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, made it permissible for them to lower or to make permissible for the lower end to extend to an arm span, not to exceed that. However as to what became unclear to some woman from the saying of the Prophet, alayhi-s-salaat was-salaam, a woman should not look to the awrah of another woman nor man to look the awrah of men. And their understanding that the awrah of a respected woman is the part between her navel and her knees. So they understood from this that this hadeeth indicates that it is ok to have short to wear or put on short clothes. However, this misunderstanding of theirs is refuted by the fact that the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, did not say the dress of a woman is between the navel and the knee. He didnt say this. So that we take from this an evidence.. However, he said the woman should not look to the private parts of the woman, the awrah of the women. So he forbade the one who looks. Why? Because the one who puts on flowing over clothes sometimes she may uncover her private parts or for any other reason. So the Prophet forbade that the woman looks at the awrah of the other woman. Do you understand? Do you understand the difference between the two? The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, did not say that the dress of a woman is between the navel and the knee. And when the Prophet, alayhi-s-salaat was-salaam, said: The man should not look to the other mans private parts so did they, the Companions, wear izaar, the waist-garment, from the navel to the knee? Or did they put on pants from the navel to the knee? And is it now sound for a woman to go out and meet other women having on her nothing except that which shields from the area from the navel to the knee? No one says this. And this is not the case except with the woman of the kaafirs, the kaafir woman.

So this is the thing which was understood by some women from this hadeeth, is incorrect. And the hadeeths meaning is obvious and appearant. If the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, did not say that the dress of the woman should be between her navel and her knee so the woman should fear Allaah, subhaanahu wa Taala, and should assume shyness and bashfulness which is from the characteristic of the woman and this is from eemaan, from faith, as the Prophet said, Bashfulness is a branch of faith. Similarly also we know the parable which says, More bashful than a woman kept in her private quarter. This is a parable because of the shyness that the woman should assume. And we did not know, not even concerning the woman in the pre-Islamic era, nisaa ul-jaahiliyyah, the woman of jaahiliyyah, that they used to shield that which is between the navel and the knee only. This was not the case with the women nor it was the case with the men. So do these women then, do they want that the Muslim Woman be in a worse situation than the woman of jaahiliyyah?

And in summary, the dress is something and looking at the awrah is something else. The dress, libaas, of a woman when she is with another woman, the legal dress is to cover that which between the palms and to the ankles. This is the legal. However, if the woman needs to tuck up her dress because of work or something else then she may tuck it all the way to the knee. And similarly if she needs to tuck up the sleeves, if she needs to tuck up the sleeves all the way to the shoulder then she may do so as it is a need, whenever theres a need. However, to have this to be the normal dress which she puts on, then no. And the hadeeth does not indicate this under any circumstances. And thats why if the address was to the one looking, not to the one being looked at. And the Prophet, alayhis-salaat was-salaam, did not mention anything about the dress. And he did not say that the dress of the woman is between the navel and the knee. So thats what keeps women from having this kind of misunderstanding. As with respect to their mahrams, then the same in terms of looking, like the looking of a woman to a woman. Meaning: that it is permissible for the woman to uncover in the presence of her mahrams that which she uncovers in the presence of other women. She may uncover the head, the neck, the feet, the hands, the arm and the shin. But she should not make her dress short.

This is a quick drawing over on the answer of our Shaykh, rahimahullaah, concerning this question which often comes or is often presented by many of our sisters. So I ask Allaah, subhaanahu wa Taala, to make it a benefit for them and for all of us. Alhamdulillaahi Rabbi-l-Aalameen, wa sallallaahu alaa nabiyyinaa Muhammad wa aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.

Source:muslimahconnection.com