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Lesson Muslim women's dress
Clothes are a great blessing from Allah that He has graced people with. With it, a person covers his body and protects it from heat and cold, and so on, as it is an adornment and a form of beautification. Allah says: (O children of Adam! We have provided for you clothing to cover your nakedness and as an adornment. However, the best clothing is righteousness. This is one of Allah’s bounties, so perhaps you will be mindful.) [Al-'Araaf:26] And one type of clothing is obligatory for every man and woman, and it is what covers the private parts. Another form is for grooming, adornment, and beautification for special occasions such as weddings, Eid, and so on.
The legislative rulings related to women's clothing bring about important objectives. On the one hand, women maintain their privacy, protection from men's looks, and protection - often - from the actions and words of corrupt people. The legal Islamic dress code also gives women tranquility, reassurance, dignity, and honor. Above all, women who adhere to the legal dress code declare their servitude and humility to Allah by complying with His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
On a societal level, women’s legal dress or veil protects society from temptation and maintains stability and security for all its members. However, once tribulations occur, the community is ravaged with all its components, men and women, and then the fabric of the family, its stability, and its reassurance are shaken and may break down; this is very visible in many countries.
Conditions for the Hijab of a Muslim Woman
1- Covering the Body
Allah said: (O Prophet! Ask your wives, daughters, and believing women to draw cloaks over their bodies. In this way, they will more likely be recognized ˹as virtuous˺ and not be harassed. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) [Al-Ahzaab:59] The scholars differed regarding covering the face and hands; some said: It is obligatory, and some said: It is desirable, but they agreed that it is compulsory to cover everything else.
2- It should not be an adornment in and of itself
This is included in the general saying of Allah: (And not to display their adornment.)[An-Nur:31].
3, 4- To be Thick and Loose
The Prophet, ﷺ said: «Two are the types of people of Hell whom I did not see: people having flogs like the tails of the ox with them and they would be beating people, and the women who would be dressed but appear to be naked, who would be inclined (to evil) and make their husbands incline towards it. Their heads would be like the humps of the bukht camel inclined to one side. They will not enter Paradise, and they would not smell its odor whereas its odor would be smelt from such and such distance.» (Muslim 2128), On the authority of Osama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ clothed me with a thick cloak, which was one of the gifts that Dihyah al-Kalbi had given me. " I said: O Messenger of Allah, I clothed my wife with it. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: «Tell her to put a tunic underneath it, for I am afraid that it will reveal her shape.» (Ahmed, 21786).
5- It should not have a fragrance or be perfumed.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «Any woman who puts on perfume then passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance then she is an adulteress.» (An-Nasa’i, 5126)
6- It should not resemble men's clothing.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was reported to have said that the Prophet ﷺ said: «Allah has cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men.» (Al-Bukhari, 5885).
7- It does not resemble the clothing of disbelieving women
It has been established in the legislation that it is not permissible for Muslims - both men and women - to imitate the disbelievers in their worship, festivals, or clothing that is specific to them because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: He reported Allah’s messenger as saying: «He who imitates any people is from them.»(Abu Dawud, 4031).
8- Clothes that do not Attract Attention
This is due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: «Whoever wears a garment of pride and vanity in this world, Allah will clothe him with a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection, then set it ablaze.» (Ibn Majah, 3607) And the dress of pride and vanity is every garment intended to draw attention among people.
The conditions above relate to the dress of a Muslim woman when she leaves the house or when she is in the presence of men other than her mahrams. It is not obligatory for her to apply these conditions in front of her mahrams (a person she can uncover in front of) or when meeting other women. In this case, it is permissible for her to wear perfume and show some adornment with specific rules.
A Woman Flaunting her Adornment
It is for a woman to show non-mahrams her adornment and beauty that she must conceal from them.
The dress of a Muslim woman with regard to those around her
The Muslim woman's dress in front of a stranger (non-mahram).
It is the legitimate veil that Allah and His Messenger, ﷺ commanded and whose conditions have already been mentioned.
The dress of a Muslim woman in front of her male relatives
She must cover all of her body in front of them except for what is usually visible, such as the neck, hair, and feet, as well as the face and hands. Allah says: (And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons,..) [An-Noorl31]
The dress of a Muslim woman in front of other Muslim women
She must - as in her case in front of her mahrams - cover all of her body except for what appears of it most of the time, such as the neck, hair, and feet, as well as the face and hands. Allah says: (And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, their fellow women..) [An-Noor:31] "Their women," i.e., Other Muslim women.
The dress of a Muslim woman in front of the women from the People of the Book
It is obligatory for her - as in the case of other Muslim women - to cover all of her body except for what appears of it most of the time, such as the neck, hair, and feet; This is because the women of the People of the Book used to enter upon the mothers of the believers, and it was not reported that the Prophet ﷺ ordered them to be veiled in front of them.
Types of Women's Clothing and Adornment in Terms of Permissibility and Prohibition
Women's Clothing and Adornment that are Permissible
The basic rule of clothing and adornment is permissibility; no exception is made except what the legislation prohibits. So it is permissible for a woman to wear all kinds of clothes, of all colors and types of fabrics, and to adorn herself with all sorts of permissible adornments such as jewelry, perfumes, and cosmetics, provided that they do not harm her, and that they do not imitate infidels. Forbidden materials are not used in making them. Like pig fat, for example.
Clothing and Adornment that are Recommended
What is meant by this is everything that the legislation mentioned as desirable and everything that a woman wears and adorns to please her husband and endear him to her, provided that it is nothing forbidden.
Clothing and Adornment that are Forbidden
Meaning the clothing and adornment that the legislation has forbidden and warned against, and stipulates that it is forbidden, or it is contrary to the rules of the legislation that have been commanded to be adhered to, such as being different from the Jews and Christians, not imitating men, and so on.
