The Dangers of Tabarruj

Imam Ibn Baz opens his essay on tabarruj with what he says everyone with some understanding can already see: women indecently exposing themselves in many lands, revealing their faces, not observing the proper hijab in front of men, and openly exposing the adornment Allah has forbidden them to reveal. His judgment on it is not soft.

“No doubt, this is from the great wrongs and manifest sins. And it is from the greatest causes for punishment and wrath descending upon the ummah. This is because of what comes as a result of unveiling and indecent exposure, such as the appearance of immorality, the enactment of crimes, a decrease in modesty and widespread mischief.”

What follows presents his essay The Dangers of Tabarruj, the first treatise of Four Essays on the Obligation of Veiling, in his own order: what tabarruj is, the evidences he brings against it, the harms he warns follow from it, and the counsel he closes with. His words are quoted where they are given, and summarized faithfully where they are not. The definition that opens the evidence section is Imam al-Albani’s, recorded in the same book’s Appendix A.

The Evidence and the Limit

Imam al-Albani defines the word itself:

“Tabarruj is when a woman exposes her adornment, body features and all that she is obligated to cover, which invites the desires of men.”

Appendix A gathers the earlier explanations beside his. As Ibn Katheer records, Mujahid said the tabarruj of the Days of Ignorance was that a woman would go out and walk amongst men, and Qataadah said the women would walk out swaggering and flirting, so Allah forbade them from that. Muqaatil said it is when a woman places a khimaar on her head without fastening it properly, so that her necklace, earrings and neck are all exposed. Imam al-Qurtubee said that from the ways of tabarruj is that a woman wears two transparent garments that describe her body, and Imam as-Sa’dee said it means going out beautified or perfumed, as the women of the Days of Ignorance used to do since they had no knowledge or religious characteristics. The Prophet ﷺ described the women given to it in the hardest terms:

“And the worst of your women are the ones who commit Tabarruj, who strut around in arrogance. They are the hypocrites. None from among them will enter Paradise except (those who are) like the rare crow”

(reported by al-Bayhaqee (7/82) and authenticated by al-Albani in as-Saheehah (4/1849), as the book’s footnote records).

Allah addressed the prohibition first to the Prophet’s ﷺ wives:

“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allah), then be not 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. And stay in your houses and do not openly display yourselves like that of the Days of Ignorance”

(Qur’an 33:32-33). Imam Ibn Baz explains what that display of the Days of Ignorance was: exposing their adornment and bodily features such as the head, face, neck, chest, forearm, shin and so on, because of what is found in that from great mischief, overwhelming temptation and an incitement of male hearts towards embarking on the means of fornication. Then he draws the conclusion the whole essay rests on. If Allah warned the Mothers of the Believers from these things in spite of their uprightness, strong faith and pure nature, then all women besides them take more precedence in this matter: they are more deserving of being warned and forbidden, and there is more right that we fear for them from the causes of fitnah.

He brings the two verses of the same surah that complete the command. Allah said: “And when you ask them (i.e. the Prophet’s wives) for something, ask them from behind a veil. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts” (Qur’an 33:53). This, the Imam says, is a clear text for the obligation of women covering and veiling themselves in front of male strangers, and it shows that hijab is purity for the hearts of men and women, while unveiling and not wearing the proper hijab is filthy and impure, and wearing the hijab denotes purity and cleanliness. And Allah said:

“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women to cast their jalaabeeb upon themselves (i.e. their bodies). That is better, that they should be known so as not to be bothered. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”

(Qur’an 33:59). Jalaabeeb, he explains, is the plural of jilbaab, a garment that a woman places on her head and body, over her outer garments, in order to cover and veil herself, and Allah commanded all the Muslim women to cast it over their body parts, such as their hair and face, so that they may be known for their chastity and thus not be put to trial or put others to trial. ‘Alee bin Abee Talhah reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas that he said:

“Allah has commanded the believing women, when they come out of their homes, due to a necessity, to cover their faces by placing their jalaabeeb over their heads, and only expose one eye.”

And Muhammad bin Sireen said: “I asked ‘Ubaydah as-Salmaanee about Allah’s saying: ‘to cast their jalaabeeb upon themselves’ so he veiled his face and head and only exposed his left eye.”

The Harms and the Warnings

A punishment that threatens everyone

The essay’s first warning is not addressed to women alone. Imam Ibn Baz writes:

“So fear Allah O Muslims and take hold of the hands of the foolish ones amongst you (to turn them to the truth). And restrict your women from that which Allah has made forbidden for them whilst requiring from them that they observe the Hijaab and veil themselves properly. And beware of Allah’s Wrath and His tremendous punishment.”

For it has been authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Verily when a people see an evil and do not change it, it is imminent that Allah will send His punishment down upon them.” Allah said of the earlier nations:

“Those among the Children of Israa’eel who disbelieved were cursed upon the tongue of Dawood and ‘Eesaa, son of Maryam. That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds. They would not forbid one another from doing evil, which they would commit themselves. Terrible indeed was what they used to do”

(Qur’an 5:78-79). Ibn Mas’ood reported that the Prophet ﷺ recited this verse and then swore that the believers will either command the good, forbid the evil, and take hold of the hand of the deluded one, turning him towards the truth, or Allah will cause their hearts to turn against one another and curse them just as He cursed them. And it is authentically reported that he ﷺ said: “Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he should change it with his hand. If he is not able to, then with his tongue, and if he is not able to, then with his heart, and this is the weakest form of Faith (Eemaan).”

The gaze left free

Allah’s commands run in both directions.

“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 (tell them) not to display their zeenah (adornment) except for that which is apparent from it. And (tell them) to draw their khimaars (veils) over their bosoms (juyoob). And (tell them) not to reveal their zeenah (adornment) except to their husbands”

and the rest of those the verse names,

“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 Imam explains why the gaze is bound into the same ruling: unrestricted looking is from the things that cause hearts to be diseased and immoral acts to occur, while lowering the gaze is from the things that bring about salvation from that. “So lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts is purer for the believers in this world and the Hereafter, whereas unrestricted control of the gaze and the private parts is from the greatest causes of perdition and punishment in this world and the Hereafter.” And Allah, who gave the command, misses nothing of its breach: “He knows the fraud of the eyes and all that the hearts conceal” (Qur’an 40:19). “Whatever you (O Muhammad) may be doing, and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Qur’aan, and whatever deed you (mankind) may be doing (good or evil), We are a Witness thereof, whilst you are doing it” (Qur’an 10:61). So, he concludes, “the obligation upon the servant is that he becomes aware of his Lord and that he observes modesty in front of Him, such that He doesn’t see him upon sin or see him failing to obey what He mandated upon him.”

Even the elderly are held back from it

The one relaxation Allah grants in this whole subject is fenced with conditions, and Imam Ibn Baz makes the fence do the teaching.

“As for the Qawaa’id (old women past child-bearing age) amongst women, who do not expect wedlock, there is no harm upon them if they discard their (outer) garments in such a way as not to show off their adornment (tabarruj). But to refrain (i.e. not to discard their outer clothing) is better for them. And Allah is the All-Hearer, the All-Knowing”

(Qur’an 24:60). The two conditions, as he sets them out, are that these women do not seek or expect to get married, and that they do not indecently expose their adornment. A woman who does display her adornment is not permitted to remove her garment from covering her face, hands and other parts of her beauty, and she sins if she does, even though she may be elderly and past the age of childbearing.

“This is since indecent exposure (tabarruj) leads to fitnah on the part of the woman that unveils herself, even if she may be elderly and past the age of childbearing. So what is the condition with the young and beautiful woman when she indecently exposes herself? Indeed, the sin is greater on her and the fitnah (temptation) caused by her is more severe.”

And since Allah ends the verse by urging even these elderly women to refrain, because refraining is better for them, the Imam draws the conclusion: veiling and refraining from revealing one’s adornment is better for the young females for all the more reason, and brings them further away from the causes of fitnah.

“Except that which is apparent from it”

One phrase in the verse has been read in two ways, and the Imam settles it in the essay. Ibn Mas’ood said “‘that which is apparent from it’ means what is apparent from her garment,” the garments that do not contain indecency and temptation, since that is pardonable. As for what is reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas, that he interpreted it to mean the face and hands, the Imam says it most likely refers to the condition of the women before the revelation of the verse of hijab (33:59); after that verse was revealed, Allah obligated the women to cover their entire bodies. What indicates this is Ibn ‘Abbaas’s own explanation reported by ‘Alee bin Abee Talhah, that the believing women were commanded, when they come out of their homes for a necessity, to cover their faces from the top of their heads downwards with jilbaabs, and to expose only one eye. “Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taimiyyah, as well as other scholars, held this view, and it is the truth in which there is no doubt.” And the practice of the Prophet’s ﷺ household matches it: in the story of the Great Slander, ‘Aa’ishah veiled her face with her khimaar when she heard the voice of Safwaan bin Al-Mu’attal As-Sulamee, and she stated that he used to know her before the hijab was obligated. The Imam’s conclusion follows: since the women of today have fallen into widespread uncovering and indecent exposure of their body parts, it is obligatory to prevent the means and cut off the channels that lead to immorality and the appearance of lewd acts.

Alone with her, and silence before it

From the greatest causes of immorality, he writes, is when men are in privacy with women, and when they travel with them without there being any mahram for these women. It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“No woman should travel except with a mahram (male-guardian). And no man should be in privacy with a woman, except that she has a mahram (male-guardian) with her.”

He ﷺ also said:

“A man should not be alone with a woman for indeed the devil will be the third amongst them.”

And he ﷺ said:

“No man should come to the home of a woman unless her husband or male-guardian is present”

(reported by Muslim in his Saheeh). Then the command to the Muslims at large:

“So fear Allah O Muslims! And take hold of the hands of your women and prevent them from doing what Allah has forbidden, such as unveiling, showing off their adornment, exposing their features, and imitating the enemies of Allah, from the Christians and those who follow them. And know that remaining silent with them (when they commit these evil deeds) is the same as participating with them in their sin and in receiving Allah’s anger and punishment.”

From the greatest of obligations, he adds, is warning the men not to sit alone with women, to visit them in privacy, and to travel with them without any male guardian present, since all of these are from the means that lead to immorality and temptation.

Clothed yet naked

The essay then sets the Prophet’s ﷺ own descriptions side by side. He ﷺ said: “I have not left behind me a fitnah (trial) more dangerous for men, than women.” He ﷺ said: “This worldly life is sweet and dazzling, and Allah has put you in charge of it to see how you will do and what you will do, so beware of this world and beware of women, for the first fitnah (trial) that befell the Tribe of Israa’eel was with regard to women.” He ﷺ said: “Perhaps a clothed woman in the worldly life will be naked in the Hereafter.” And he ﷺ said:

“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. And (the second) are men with whips that look like the tails of cows with which they will be beating people.”

The book’s footnote records how the scholars explained clothed yet naked. Ibn ‘Abdil-Barr said: “The Prophet ﷺ meant by this those women who wear skimpy clothes that describe the body and don’t cover it. So they are clothed in the literal sense, yet naked in reality.” An-Nawawee held that it means she wears a transparent garment that describes the colour of her skin, and Ibn Al-‘Arabee said the garments, due to the fact that they are transparent, describe them and expose their bodily features, and this is forbidden. Imam Ibn Baz’s own comment gathers the whole passage:

“This is a severe warning against indecent exposure, unveiling and wearing short and tight clothes, as well as a warning against inclining away from truth and modesty and inclining others to lewdness and falsehood. It also warns against oppressing and transgressing against the rights of people, and threatens the one who does this with being prevented from entering Paradise.”

Imitating the disbelieving women

The last form of the danger he names is copied dress.

“From the greatest forms of depravity is when many of the (Muslim) women imitate the disbelieving women, such as the Christians, by wearing short garments, exposing the hair and other body parts, getting hairstyles according to the fashion of the people of disbelief and wickedness, adding hair extensions and wearing manufactured hairpieces known as wigs.”

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever imitates a people is amongst them.” What comes as a result of this imitation, and of the scanty garments that make women look naked, is well known, he says: depravity, tribulations, lenience in the Religion and a decrease in modesty. So it is an obligation to beware of that and to restrict the women from doing that, whilst being stern in this matter, since its consequence is dangerous and its corruption is tremendous. Nor is leniency permitted with young girls: “It is not permissible to be lenient about these things with young girls since bringing them up with that will only lead them to grow accustomed to it and hate anything besides that when they grow older,” and they will fall into the same dreaded mischief, sin and fitnah that the older women fall into.

His counsel at the end

The essay closes as it opened, with a command and a warning about who carries it.

“So fear Allah, O servants of Allah, and stay away from what Allah has made forbidden to you. And assist one another in righteousness and dutifulness to Allah, and counsel one another towards the truth and towards being patient with it. And know that Allah will ask you regarding this and that He will recompense you for your actions.”

The obligation on the leaders, from among the rulers, judges, scholars, presidents and committee members, is greater than the obligation on others, and the danger on their part is greater, so if anyone among them remains silent about this issue, the calamity is great. But repelling evil is not specific to them only: the obligation falls upon all of the Muslims, particularly the high ranking and senior amongst them, and especially the women’s male guardians and husbands, to repel this evil, to be stern in that, and to be strict with those who are lenient in that matter, so that perhaps Allah may uplift from us the calamity that has befallen us and guide us and our women to the Straight Path. To that end he quotes the Prophet’s ﷺ words about every prophet’s helpers and companions, and those who come after them: “whoever strives against them with his hand, then he is a believer, and whoever strives against them with his tongue, then he is a believer, and whoever strives against them with his heart, then he is a believer. And there is not a mustard’s seed of Faith (Belief) beyond that.” And he ends asking Allah to give victory to His Religion, to raise His Word high, to rectify the leaders, suppressing the depravity through them and aiding the truth by them, and to direct all the Muslims towards that which will rectify the people and the lands, in this worldly life and the Hereafter.

The Guardian’s Part in It

The same book’s appendixes include one answer spoken to the men over the woman. In Appendix E, Advice to the Male-Guardians, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan was asked what his advice is to the male guardians of women who are lax in the Hijaab and expose their alluring bodily features to unrelated men in the markets and other places, and what the guardian’s role is in safeguarding her religion. His answer gives the other side of the danger the Imam has been warning of. Display is fed from two directions: the woman who displays, and the guardian who lets her.

“Allah says: ‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because of the fact that Allah has favored some of them (i.e. men) over others (women).’ [Surah An-Nisaa: 34] Allah has enabled and entrusted men to take care of and be responsible for women. And He commanded the women to obey Him and forbade them from disobeying Him. This includes the Hijaab. The Hijaab is one of Allah’s commandments. So therefore it is an obligation on her male-guardian to oblige her to wear it, regardless is he is her direct male-guardian such as her father, son, brother or someone who has guardianship over her, or if he is a general guardian, such as the Muslim ruler who may mandate the Muslim women to wear the Hijaab.”

“Therefore, a Muslim ruler may oblige the women of his country to wear the Hijaab, in the general sense, while the male-guardians in charge of households may oblige the women that live in their homes to wear the Hijaab (in the specific sense). They are responsible for these women. If the women knew that the general ruler in charge of her affairs as well as her specific male-guardian oblige her to obey Allah and abandon disobeying Him, she would not put up any resistance in these matters. But when the male-guardians show laxity in these matters, the women become bold. And there are callers to evil, lewdness, and hypocrisy behind them who encourage them to unveil and take off the Hijaab.”

“So the matter today is dangerous. It is incumbent upon a woman’s male-guardians - both the general and the specific - to assist and aid one another in obliging the women to abide by the Hijaab. It is also an obligation upon the male-guardians, may Allah grant them correctness, to silence the tongues of those who invite to evil and corruption - those who call to unveiling and to the removal of the Hijaab. This is what Allah has entrusted them with.”

Key Lessons

Tabarruj is a woman exposing her adornment, her body features, and all that she is obligated to cover, in a way that invites the desires of men. Allah named it after the Days of Ignorance, and its forms include the unfastened veil that shows the neck and jewelry, transparent garments that describe the body, and going out beautified and perfumed.
The prohibition was given first to the purest women, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ. Women after them are more deserving of the warning, not less, and the command to cast the jilbaab over the hair and face is addressed to all the believing women.
What follows from unveiling is not private: immorality appears, crimes are enacted, modesty decreases, and mischief spreads. A people who see an evil and do not change it stand under the threat of a punishment that reaches everyone.
The gaze is bound by the same ruling. Unrestricted looking diseases the hearts of men and women, lowering the gaze is purity in this world and the Hereafter, and Allah is a witness over every deed and knows the fraud of the eyes.
Age is no way out of it. Even the elderly woman past childbearing may lay aside her outer garment only if she does not seek marriage and does not display her adornment, and refraining is better even for her. The sin and the fitnah are greater for the young and beautiful.
A garment can be worn and still be nakedness: short, tight and transparent clothes that describe the body fall under the warning of the women clothed yet naked, who will not enter Paradise nor perceive its odor.
Imitation carries the same danger. Short garments, exposed hair, fashionable hairstyles, hair extensions and wigs copied from the disbelieving women bring depravity, lenience in the Religion and a decrease in modesty, and girls raised upon it grow to hate anything besides it.
Silence is counted as sharing in the sin. The duty to repel this evil falls on all the Muslims, heaviest on the leaders and on a woman’s own male guardians and husband, and it is carried out with the hand, the tongue, or at the very least the heart.

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: first treatise, The Dangers of Tabarruj, by Imam Ibn Baz, printed pp. 9-24; Appendix A, The Definition of Tabarruj, printed pp. 90-91; Appendix E, Advice to the Male-Guardians, printed p. 101 (Shaykh al-Fawzan, from his Ta’ammulaat fee Awaakhir Surat-il-Ahzaab, pp. 47-48).

In the passages quoted on this page, the book prints the divine name in its long spelling; on this page it is written “Allah”, by the site’s spelling decision, the rest exactly as printed.