In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate "May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You" Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu The Awrah (1 of 2) Taken from www.islam-qa.comand other (authentic) sources orginally posted by Imran Ayub. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islam_true/ 1. Men There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that a mans awrah is the area between the navel and the knee (and the navel and knee are not part of the awrah). See al-Majmoo, 3/173; al-Mughni, 2/286 These ahaadeeth include the following: 1 Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead. 2 Ahmad (21989) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Mamar when I was with him, and his thighs were uncovered. He said: O Mamar, cover your thighs, for the thigh is awrah. 3 Ahmad (15502), Abu Dawood (4014) and al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Jawhad al-Aslami that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered and he said: Do you not know that the thigh is awrah? 4 al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The thigh is awrah. The majority of fuqaha are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a mans awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284 2. Women Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: Asma, daughter of AbuBakr, entered upon the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wearing thin clothes. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) turned his attention from her. He said: "O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not fitting that any part of her should be seen except this," and he pointed to her face and hands. [Sahih Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2, p. 774, hadith number 3458, authenticated by al-Albaani] The Female awrah also includes the tops of her feet. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told his companions to raise their lower garments well above their ankles, his wife, Umm Salamah asked, What about woman,O Messenger of Allah?, He replied, Let her lower it a palms width. Umm Salamah inquired, But her feet will be exposed. He responded saying, A forearms length, then, but no more. [Sahih Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 2, p. 776, hadith number 3467, authenticated by al-Albaani] 3. Some Questions and Answers (i) What is a woman permitted to uncover in front of other women and mahrams ?
The Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas issued a statement on this matter, which reads as follows: Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions. The believing women at the beginning of Islam were extremely pure, chaste, and modest, which was the blessing of belief in Allaah and His Messenger and following the Quraan and Sunnah. Women at that time used to wear concealing garments, and it is not known that they used to uncover themselves when they met one another or when they met their mahrams. The women of this ummah followed this mode of behaviour praise be to Allaah generation after generation until recently, when corruption and impropriety entered the way women dress and behave for many reasons, which we do not have room to discuss here. Because of the large number of questions that have been sent to the Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas about women looking at women, and what women should wear, the Committee is telling all Muslim women that women are obliged to have an attitude of modesty, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described as being part of faith and one of the branches of faith. One aspect of the modesty which is enjoined by Islam and by custom is that women should cover themselves, be modest and adopt an attitude and conduct that will keep her far away from falling into fitnah (temptation) and doubtful situations. The Quraan clearly indicates that a woman should not show to other women anything other than that which she shows to her mahrams, that which she customarily uncovers in her own home and when doing housework, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands fathers, or their sons, or their husbands sons, or their brothers or their brothers sons, or their sisters sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam) [al-Noor 24:31] If this is the text of the Quraan and this is what is indicated by the Sunnah, then this is what the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the womenfolk of the Sahaabah used to do, and the women of the ummah who followed them in truth until the present day. What was usually uncovered in front of the people mentioned in this verse is what women usually uncover when they are at home and when doing housework, which is difficult to avoid, such as uncovering the head, hands, neck and feet. With regard to going to extremes in uncovering, there is no evidence in the Quraan and Sunnah that this is permissible. It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Whoever imitates a people is one of them. Narrated by Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawood. In Saheeh Muslim (2077) it is narrated from Abd-Allaah ibn Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw him wearing two garments dyed with safflower, and he said, These are from the clothing of the kuffaar do not wear them. It is also narrated in Saheeh Muslim (2128) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not seen: people with whips like the tails of cattle, with which they beat the people, and women who are clothed yet naked, misguided and leading others astray, with their heads like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise or even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance may be detected from such and such a distance. The meaning of the phrase clothed yet naked is that the woman is wearing clothes that do not cover her, so she is clothed, but in fact she is naked, such as when she wears a thin dress that shows the colour of her skin, or a dress that shows the outline of her body, or a short dress that does not cover part of her limbs. So what Muslim women have to do is to adhere to the guidance followed by the Mothers of the Believers (the Prophets wives) and the womenfolk of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them), and the women of this ummah who followed them in truth, and strive to cover themselves and be modest. This is farthest removed from the causes of fitnah and will protect them from the things that lead to provocation of desires and falling into immorality. Muslim women must also beware of falling into that which Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden of imitating kaafir women and prostitutes, in obedience to Allaah and His Messenger, and in the hope of attaining the reward of Allaah, and for fear of His punishment. Every Muslim must also fear Allaah with regard to the women who are under his care, and not let them wear things that Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden, such as provocative clothes, or clothes that are revealing or tempting. He should remember that he is a shepherd and will be responsible for his flock on the Day of Resurrection. We ask Allaah to set the Muslims affairs straight, and to guide us all to the straight path, for He is All-Hearing, Ever-Near and Ever Responsive. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions. [Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah, 17/290] It also says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah (17/297): What a woman is permitted to uncover in front of her children is that which is customarily uncovered, such as the face, hands, forearms, feet and so on. (ii) Womans awrah in front of her children If the child understands what the awrah is, then it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her awrah in front of him. But if he does not understand because he is little, then it is permissible. It seems to me that at the age of 11 months he will not understand, but if a child is four or five years old, he may understand this matter. The point is that if he understands and such actions will stick in his mind, then it is not permissible for a woman to uncover the most private awrah in front of him. [Dr. Khaalid ibn al-Mushayqih.] (iii) Is a womans voice awrah ? The womans voice is not awrah in principle, for women used to complain to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and ask him about Islamic matters. They also did that with the Rightly-Guided Khaleefahs (may Allaah be pleased with them) and the rulers after them. And they would greet non-mahram men with salaams and return greetings, and none of the imams of Islam denounced them for that. But it is not permissible for a woman to speak in a soft or alluring voice, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allaah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner [al-Ahzaab 33:32] because men may be tempted by that, as is indicated by this aayah. And Allaah is the source of strength. [From Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah lil-Buhooth al-Ilmiyyah wal-Iftaa, 6/83.] to be contd... Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveIslam_LiveIslam/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To subscribe send email to: [email protected] http://islammyreligion.wordpress.com What will you sacrifice this eid? 0800 520 0000 www.islamic-relief.org.uk Yahoo! 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