Advice to the Muslim Woman

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Advice to the Muslim Woman is a transcribed lecture, printed as the third treatise of Four Essays on the Obligation of Veiling. He opens it by saying the lecture is not restricted to women only, though its emphasis falls on the issues particular to them, since a man is responsible for the woman under his care. His counsel moves in a wide arc: the woman’s place in creation and in this Religion, her equal share in obligation and in reward, and then the guards Allah placed around her, the lowered gaze, the covering, the mahram on a journey, the home as her base, guarded speech with men, her charge over the children, and at the end the practices the Prophet ﷺ cursed and the patience required when calamity strikes.

What follows presents the lecture in the Shaykh’s own order. His words are quoted where they are given, and summarized faithfully where they are not. One part of the lecture, his long treatment of a man being in privacy with a woman, is touched on only briefly here, because it already stands in full on this site in the article on seclusion and mixing.

Her Place, and Her Equal Share

The Shaykh begins where the human story begins. Allah created mankind from a single soul, Aadam, created his wife from that soul, and from the two of them spread many men and women:

“O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul (Aadam), and from that He created its wife, and from them He created many men and women. Fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights. And (do not cut off the relations of) the wombs. Surely, Allah is ever an All-Watcher over you”

(Qur’an 4:1). The wife was made so that the man may find repose in her:

“And from His signs is that He created for you wives from amongst yourselves that you may find repose in them. And He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for people who reflect”

(Qur’an 30:21). The Shaykh explains: “This is one of Allah’s signs, i.e. the proofs that indicate His Ability and Mercy, and His right to be worshipped alone without any partners.” From this union come the formation of a society, the creation of families, and the building of homes, and a man’s dealings with a woman are fixed by Allah’s legislation: “And live with them honorably” (Qur’an 4:19). The practical consequence, he says, is this:

“So due to all of this, special importance must be given to the woman from the perspective of instructing and guiding her, from the perspective of choosing a pious wife that is religious, and from the perspective of interacting with her such that a man does not exploit his authority over her by oppressing her or maltreating her.”

From there he settles the foundation the whole lecture stands on. Allah made it an obligation upon men to obey Him and worship Him, and He mandated upon women that they should obey Him and worship Him alone without any partner, promising the good-doer from both genders a tremendous reward and threatening the evil-doer from both with punishment. “Therefore, a man and a woman are the same with regard to religious obligations in the general sense.” And:

“Even though a woman is particularized with certain religious obligations apart from men, in the general sense, both man and woman are equal when it comes to worshipping Allah, obeying Him and receiving reward or punishment.”

The promise itself is one and the same for both: “Whoever does good deeds, whether male or female, while being a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life, and We shall recompense them with a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do” (Qur’an 16:97). Allah lists the qualities side by side, men and women in every line:

“Verily, the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the obedient men and women, the honest men and women, the patient men and women, the humble men and women, the men and women who give charity, the men and women who fast, the men and women who guard their private parts, and the men and women who remember Allah much, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward”

(Qur’an 33:35). “Allah has promised both genders, male and female, with forgiveness and great reward for possessing these characteristics mentioned by Allah.”

The First Guard: The Gaze

The first guard he takes up is the eye, and it binds the men before it binds the women:

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect their private parts and not to display their zeenah (adornment) except for that which is apparent from it. And (tell them) to draw their khumur (veils) over their bosoms (juyoob). And (tell them) not to reveal their zeenah (adornment) except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigor, or small children who have no sense of gender. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn in repentance to Allah, all of you, O believers, in order that you may be successful”

(Qur’an 24:30-31).

The look, he explains, is not a small thing that stays where it lands. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The two eyes fornicate, and their fornication is the look” (a portion of a hadith reported by Imam Ahmad (2/343) from the narration of Abu Hurairah, as the book’s footnote records).

“The look is one of the poisonous arrows of the Devil. If a person shoots it out, it is indeed a poisonous missile that kills the one who sends it. This arrow returns back to the heart of the one looking.”

Eyesight itself is a blessing, and a blessing must be used only in what Allah has permitted, and kept from what He has forbidden, such as looking at women, at immoral images, and into the private parts of people’s homes.

Clothing serves this same guard. “O children of Aadam, We have bestowed clothing upon you so that you may cover your private parts and use it as an adornment” (Qur’an 7:26). The Shaykh explains the two wisdoms in it:

“So Allah created clothes for two tremendous aspects of wisdom, the first of which is: Covering the private parts, while the second is: Beautification, adornment and decoration. Then He goes on to direct us, or inform us, of a garment that is greater than the garment that is worn over the body, and that is the garment of Taqwaa.”

“And the garment of Taqwaa, that is better” (Qur’an 7:26).

The Covering Itself

Then Allah specifies the women with a command apart from the men, that they not display their zeenah and that they draw their khumur over their bosoms. The Shaykh’s explanation of that command is comprehensive:

“Here Allah commands the women to wear the Hijaab, which is a comprehensive covering that veils the woman’s body including her face, hands, feet and entire body.”

The adornment she must not display is of two kinds: “meaning she should not expose her adornment regardless of whether it is her physical adornment, which consists of her body, such as the face, hands and so on, or her artificial or applied adornment such as jewelry, hair-dye, kohl and so on.” As for what is apparent from it, he explains:

“‘Except for that which is apparent from it’ refers to the outer garment according to the correct opinion, meaning: What is apparent by itself without her having to expose it, and this is the outer garment, which does not constitute temptation or incitement.”

The khimaar she places over her head is then to be drawn down over the opening of her garment at the throat and chest, so that those parts are not left exposed for men to look at.

Over all of this she casts the jilbaab when she goes out:

“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women to cast their jalaabeeb (pl. of jilbaab) over themselves”

(Qur’an 33:59). “A jilbaab is a large garment that a woman wraps around herself, and it is that which is known as a big (outer) cloak that a woman places over her garments.” By it she is known, and not bothered: “That will be better, that they should be known, so as not to be bothered” (Qur’an 33:59).

And when a man must ask a woman for something, it happens from behind a screen: “And when you ask them (i.e. Prophet’s wives) for something, then ask them from behind a veil (Hijaab)” (Qur’an 33:53). The Shaykh is careful with the reach of this verse:

“Even though the ones intended by this verse were the wives of the Prophet, the verse is general. So the wording in the verse is specific for the Prophet’s wives, while its meaning is universal for all women since the Prophet’s wives are the role-models for the believing women.”

And the screen itself is wider than a garment:

“What is meant by the word Hijaab is: Anything that covers a woman whether a garment, a wall, a door or any other object that can be used to screen a woman from a man when he is talking to her or asking her about something or handing her something.”

The fruit of it is purity on both sides: “That is purer for your hearts and their hearts” (Qur’an 33:53).

“A society that strictly adheres to the Hijaab is preserved from the corruption of morals. In fact, it is the lack of Hijaab that results in immorality and the temptation of men’s desires.”

Travel, and Who Her Mahram Is

The next guard is placed on the road.

“In order to preserve both the man and woman’s honor and to safeguard their hearts from temptation, and as a means of blocking the pathways that lead to corruption, a woman is restricted from traveling alone without a mahram.”

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“It is not lawful for a woman that believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel the distance of two days unless accompanied by a mahram”

(reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (2/219-220) from the narration of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree, as the book’s footnote records).

In one narration it states: “a day and a night” while in another narration it states: “to travel” without specifying a time-frame (the first reported by Imam Muslim (no. 1339) from the narration of Abu Hurairah, and the second by al-Bukhaaree (4/18) and Muslim (no. 1341), as the book’s footnotes record).

“What is intended here is that a woman should not travel alone without a mahram. If she does so, i.e. travels without a mahram, she would be disobeying Allah and His Messenger, committing what Allah has forbidden and exposing herself to fitnah. This applies generally to all situations and time periods.”

A group of women is not a mahram

The claim that company replaces a mahram does not stand with him:

“As for what some people claim, that if a woman travels accompanied by a group of other women, this takes the place of a mahram, then this is a view that is in opposition to the Prophet’s statement: ‘It is not lawful for a woman that believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel the distance of a day unless accompanied by a mahram’”

(reported by Imam Muslim (no. 1339) from the narration of Abu Hurairah, as the book’s footnote records). “A group of women do not serve as a mahram for a woman.” He then defines who a mahram is:

“Therefore, a woman’s mahram is any male that she is forbidden (to marry) due to a family-tie or some allowable reason. This forbiddance (of marriage) must also be endless, i.e. everlasting.”

Family ties make a mahram of her father, her son, and her uncles; marital ties make one of her husband’s father and her husband’s son; and foster-suckling ties do the same, on the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “Foster-suckling makes forbidden that which is forbidden due to family-ties” (reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (3/149) from the narration of Ibn ‘Abbaas, as the book’s footnote records). A forbiddance that lasts only for a time does not make a mahram: the husband is forbidden to marry his wife’s sister, yet he cannot serve as her mahram, because that forbiddance is temporary.

Not even by airplane

The means of travel change nothing:

“The Prophet ﷺ stipulated that a woman be accompanied by a mahram when traveling under all circumstances, regardless of whether she travels by foot, on a riding beast, in a car or by airplane.”

The modern arrangement gets a direct answer:

“Some people today claim that there is no problem if a woman travels by airplane and her mahram dispatches her in the departure airport while another mahram picks her up at the arrival airport. We say: No, this is not permissible, since she has traveled without a mahram.”

And the reason the mahram must be present with her, and not only at the two ends, is plain:

“Furthermore, let’s suppose for example that the airplane is forced to change its destination and so it lands in a different country, who will pick her up in this other country?”

The Sunnah shows how heavy this condition is. A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:

“O Messenger of Allah, I have enlisted for such and such battle expedition, but my wife has gone out for Hajj.”

The Prophet ﷺ told him: “Go back and make Hajj with your wife”

(reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (2/219) from the narration of Ibn ‘Abbaas, as the book’s footnote records).

“This is proof that having a mahram is a condition for a woman to travel on Hajj or to other places, regardless of whether she is with a group of people or not.”

“This is why the scholars of Fiqh, may Allah have mercy on them, mentioned that one of the conditions in which Hajj becomes obligatory on a woman is when she has a mahram available to travel with her. So if one is not available for her, she is then not obligated to make Hajj until a mahram does become accessible for her.”

Alone with a Man: A Short Word

The lecture next takes up privacy, a man alone with a woman in a place where no one else is present, and treats it at length: the warning against the husband’s male relatives, whose danger is the greater because a woman is least on her guard with them; the same ruling for an empty room, and even for a doctor; and its newest form in our time, a woman riding alone in a car with a driver who is not a mahram to her, taking her to the school, to the market, and even to the masjid. That treatment stands in full, in the Shaykh’s words, in this site’s article Seclusion and Mixing: The Driver, the Workplace, the School, so it is not repeated here.

Going Out, and What She Wears

Her base is her home.

“A Muslim woman must also not be excessive in going out from her house unless it is for a valid necessity that cannot be fulfilled unless she goes out. So if she has a need to go out, she must cover herself and not go out perfumed.”

Allah addressed the Prophet’s wives, who are our role models, saying: “And remain in your homes” (Qur’an 33:33).

“This comes from the word qaraar which means to remain or stay behind and not go outside since this is the best means of preservation for a woman. So as long as she stays in her house it is better for her. And when she has a need to go outside, she may leave but whilst being covered.”

This holds even for the best of outings. Allah loves it, he says, when a woman prays in her home and doesn’t go out to pray in the masjid, even though the masjid is the home of worship and purity, because her going out exposes her to evil. The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Do not prevent the servant women of Allah from going out to the masaajid of Allah. But their homes are better for them”

(reported by Imam Ahmad, al-Bukhaaree, and Muslim (no. 442) from the narration of Ibn ‘Umar, as the book’s footnote records). And he ﷺ said: “And let the women come out odorless,” “meaning: Not adorned and perfumed” (reported by Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud (no. 565) from the narration of Abu Hurairah, as the book’s footnote records). Against that stands the picture he draws of the women of the marketplaces:

“Many women are afflicted today with going out of their homes, not for something important but rather to just roam around the marketplaces whilst adorning themselves, perfuming themselves and uncovering their faces.”

They enter the shops and uncover their faces in front of the workers and the salesmen as if they were their mahaarim, and have friendly conversations with them, joking and laughing with them. He asks them plainly where their modesty has gone, and whether they will not fear Allah.

The three marks of her garment

“It is also required for the women, when they go outside, to wear a wide, ample, concealing garment that has no decoration or adornment in it. It should be a large, loose garment that goes over the entire body and which doesn’t stick to the body and outline the limbs.”

The Shaykh then gives the garment its characteristics:

“First: It must be ample and not tight.”

“Second: It must be all-encompassing, covering her entire body and not letting any part of it show, not the hands, the feet or any part of the face. It must cover her entire body.”

“Third: There must be no decoration or adornment in it.”

Clothed yet naked

A Muslim woman, he says, must beware of what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us of:

“There are two types of people from the dwellers of the Fire that I have never seen before. (The first is) women who will be clothed yet naked, inclined (towards disobeying Allah) and inclining others, their heads will be like the slanted humps of the bukht camel. They will not enter Paradise, nor will they perceive its odor even though its odor can be perceived from a distance of such and such”

(reported by Imam Ahmad (2/356) and Muslim (no. 2128) from the narration of Abu Hurairah, as the book’s footnote records). He explains the description:

“‘Women who will be clothed yet naked’ means that they will be wearing garments. However these garments do not cover her either because they are short and do not encompass her entire body, thus exposing her hands and forearms or her feet and shins, or her garments are encompassing but transparent, thus revealing what is beneath it.”

That open display is tabarruj, the open exposition of a woman’s decoration in front of men, the display of the Days of Ignorance. Allah has forbidden it even to the elderly women who no longer expect marriage: “And as for the elderly women past childbearing who do not expect wedlock, there is no harm (i.e. sin) on them if they discard their (outer) garments in such a way as not to show off their adornment (tabarruj)” (Qur’an 24:60).

“So if an elderly woman that is not expected to be married due to her old age is forbidden from exposing her adornment, then how much more so for a young woman and how much more so for a beautiful woman and how much more so for a woman that is desired for marriage.”

Her Speech with Men

Her speech is guarded by the same care. Allah said to His Prophet’s wives: “Then do not be soft in speech, lest he in whose heart there is a disease (of fornication) should be moved with desire. But rather speak in an honorable manner” (Qur’an 33:32). The command reaches the manner of speaking, not only its matter:

“If a woman has a need to speak to a man that is not one of her mahaarim, she may speak to him, but with a casual tone that has no softness or gentleness in it and not in a joking or laughing manner. Rather, her speech must be ordinary and in accordance with what necessity dictates, i.e. a question and an answer, as per the need only.”

“So the Muslim women of today must fear Allah with respect to themselves and their societies.”

Her Charge in the Home

The same lecture then turns her attention to the house she stays in. “Likewise, the women of today, and first and foremost, the Muslim women, must focus on raising their sons and daughters in the homes, since they will be questioned about the children who are under their care and guardianship.” “They must raise their daughters to have righteous manners and proper etiquettes, and to cover themselves and have modesty.” The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. A woman is a shepherd for her husband’s home and she is responsible for taking care of it”

(reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (8/104) from the narration of Ibn ‘Umar, as the book’s footnote records). “So a woman must raise her children in an upright manner since all children that live in the house fall under her custody and she is responsible for them.”

The Practices the Prophet ﷺ Cursed

The lecture then turns to changing Allah’s creation, the very thing the Devil swore he would command: “And indeed I will order them to alter the creation of Allah” (Qur’an 4:119). The interpretation of this verse, that it refers to eyebrow-plucking, tattooing, teeth-filing, and hair extensions, has come to us in a hadith:

“The Prophet ﷺ cursed the woman who plucks eyebrows and the one who has her eyebrows plucked; the woman who extends hair and has her hair extended; and the woman who tattoos and has herself tattooed”

(reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (7/61 & 62) from the narration of ‘Abdullaah bin Mas’ood, as the book’s footnote records).

He defines each of them. “A Naamisah is someone who plucks the hair from the eyebrows with either a scissor or a razor blade or by removing it using any other method by which eyebrow hair is removed.” A Mutanammisah is a woman that asks for her eyebrows to be plucked, and she is also cursed. He grieves at what follows the plucking in our time: women remove their eyebrows, following the disbelieving women and the lewd and ignorant women, and then bring a color dye and draw lines in their place, as if dyes were better than what Allah created. “A Waashimah is a woman that draws tattoos, which is done by either sticking needles into the skin or slicing open the skin to the point that blood comes out and putting in its place some dye or coloring until there remains green lines either on her hand or her face.” And the hair: “A Waasilah is a woman that attaches another set of hair to her own hair. This is deceptive and misleading.” “An example of it is when a woman puts on a wig or she adds pieces of hair to her own hair to the point that someone will think that this is how her hair is, when in fact it is someone else’s hair and not from herself.”

The teeth are named as well: “The Prophet ﷺ cursed the women that make gaps between their teeth for beauty” (see Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (7/61 & 62), as the book’s footnote records). Filing sound teeth and placing gaps between them, thinking that this is from beauty, is in fact obedience to the Devil. But the door of treatment stays open:

“As for fixing one’s teeth if there are defects in them and they need to be fixed, then there is nothing wrong with this since it is a form of treatment or a means of removing a deformity.”

Over the whole group stands his warning:

“So it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to follow these evil practices and immoral customs by changing Allah’s creation.”

Wailing at calamity

The curses reach the graveside too. “The Prophet ﷺ also cursed the woman that wails and the one who asks for it to be done” (reported by Imam Ahmad (3/65) and Abu Dawud (no. 3128) from the narration of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree, as the book’s footnote records). A Naa’ihah is a woman that raises her voice out loud during times of calamity. “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also cursed the saaliqah, the haaliqah and the shaaqah” (reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (2/83) from the narration of Abu Moosaa, as the book’s footnote records). “A Saaliqah is a woman that shrieks out loud during times of misfortune.” “A Haaliqah is a woman that cuts her hair off in times of catastrophe, while a Shaaqqah is a woman that tears apart the neck opening of her garment or tears apart her dress during times of misfortune.” In the Days of Ignorance, people would hire women to wail when someone died, and the warning to the wailer is severe:

“If a female wailer does not repent before she dies, she will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement with a shirt of tar and a dress of scabies”

(reported by Imam Muslim (no. 934) from the narration of Abu Maalik al-Ash’aree, as the book’s footnote records).

Grief itself is not the sin. “However, there is no harm in crying and weeping for a deceased person as long as one does not raise the voice with it.” The Prophet ﷺ once cried and said: “This is mercy that Allah has placed in the hearts of the servants” (reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (2/80) and Muslim (no. 923) from the narration of Usaamah bin Zayd, as the book’s footnote records). But wailing reaches the one in the grave: “A dead person is punished in his grave due to the wailing that is done for him” (reported by Imam al-Bukhaaree (2/81 & 82) from the narration of al-Mugheerah, as the book’s footnote records). “This is since all of these things are open displays of anxiety and discontentment with Allah’s divine Decree and Pre-Ordainment as well as a lack of patience.” “What is required during times of misfortune is patience and forbearance.”

“But give glad tidings to the patient, who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Truly, to Allah we belong and truly to Him we shall return.’ They are those upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is they who are the guided ones”

(Qur’an 2:155-157).

His Closing Word

He closes by gathering the whole lecture into the woman’s own account:

“In summary: A woman has responsibilities and duties in this life. She is responsible for her actions. She has been commanded to do good and forbidden from doing evil. She will be either rewarded or punished. She holds a tremendous responsibility.”

And he names what is at stake for everyone around her:

“The societies of the past and the present were not destroyed except due to the cause of women in most cases. So a woman is a means leading to danger if she doesn’t safeguard herself and if her society does not preserve her.”

Key Lessons

A woman stands in the same obligation and the same promise as a man: commanded to obey and worship Allah, rewarded for her good and answerable for her evil, with forgiveness and a great reward prepared for the qualities Allah names in both of them side by side.
The gaze is a guard for both sexes. The look is one of the Devil’s poisonous arrows, and it returns to the heart of the one who sends it, so eyesight is used only in what Allah has permitted.
Clothing was created for covering and for adornment, and the garment of taqwaa is better than the garment on the body. A woman’s covering is comprehensive, and neither her bodily adornment nor her applied adornment is displayed before men who are not her mahram.
A woman does not travel without a mahram: not with a group of women in his place, and not by airplane with a mahram waiting at each end. If no mahram is available to her, even Hajj is not obligatory on her until one is.
Her home is her base. She goes out for a valid necessity, covered and unperfumed, and her prayer in her home is better for her than her prayer in the masjid.
The garment she goes out in is ample, covers her whole body, and carries no decoration or adornment. A garment that is short or transparent leaves her clothed yet naked, and the prohibition of display reaches even the elderly woman, so how much more the young and the beautiful.
Her speech with a man who is not her mahram stays ordinary and goes only as far as the need: a question and an answer, with no softness, joking, or laughing in it.
She is a shepherd over her husband’s home and will be questioned about the children under her care, so she raises her daughters upon modesty and covering. And she leaves the practices the Prophet ﷺ cursed: plucking the eyebrows, tattooing, extending the hair, filing sound teeth for beauty, and wailing at calamity, meeting misfortune instead with patience and the words of the patient.

References

Four Essays on the Obligation of Veiling, by Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen, al-Fawzan, and Zayd al-Madkhalee, Al-Ibaanah Book Publishing, Third Edition, 2008: third treatise, Advice to the Muslim Woman, by Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, printed pp. 55-76.

The book prints the divine name as “Allaah”; on this page it is spelled “Allah”, by the site’s spelling decision.