Questions and Answers
- Question: What is the
ruling in the matter of a woman embracing another woman passionately,
kissing, and flirting with her with sexual desire? What if they go even
further and enter the domain of deviant sexual behaviour?
Answer: All of this is harăm
with varying degrees of prohibition.
- Question: Very often women ask
specific questions [related to women’s issues] from seminations. Is it
permissible for them to ask explicitly, even though some questions might be
of a private nature? Is it permissible for the studentss to answer them in
the same explicit manner?
Answer: It is permissible for both
parties for the sake of learning and teaching religious laws, but they both
must have sincerity of intention, observe decency and decorum [in their
speech], and refrain from explicitness in matters that are not appropriate
to be expressed explicitly.
- Question: During foreplay, a sticky
substance is discharged in the woman’s vagina; and when the foreplay
continues, she sometimes has orgasm. Is it obligatory on her to perform
major ablution (ghusl) when she reaches the first stage of discharge
or only when she reaches the climax? And will this ghusl make up for wudhu?
Answer: Ghusl does not become wăjib
for the woman until she reaches the level of sexual excitement. Once she
reaches that level and the liquid is discharged, it becomes obligatory on
her to perform ghusl of janăbat which should compensate for wudhu.
- Question: During the pilgrimage
season, women use some pills to delay the on set of their monthly period;
when the period sets in, it comes with frequent intervals. Would the laws of
menses apply on that discharge?
Answer: If it comes with interruption
and does not continue —even inside the private part after the first
initial discharge— for three days, the laws of menstruation should not
apply.
- Question: A vast majority of Muslim
women who observe hijăb are used to keeping their chins and a small
part of the under chin exposed but they cover the neck. Is this permissible
for them? And how big an area of the face women can expose? And are the ears
included in that?
Answer: The ears are not part of the
face, therefore it is obligatory to cover them. As for the part of the chin
and the under chin that are seen when putting on the common head scarf, it
is to be considered as part of the face.
- Question: Is it permissible to shake
hands with a non-mahram women who is advanced in age (qawă‘id)
and do not have high hopes of getting married? What is the approximate age
for qawă‘id?
Answer: It is not permissible to touch
the body of a non-mahram woman at all, except when necessary. There
is no specific age for the qawa‘id because it varies from one woman
to another; the criterion [of defining the qawă‘id] is what has
been mentioned in the [Qur’ănic] verse: she should be advanced in age and
do not aspire for marriage (24/60).
- Question: If putting on the face veil (an-niqăb)
in a country [like England or America] sometimes arouses astonishment and
inquiries, is it obligatory to take off such veil since it would become part
of the libăsu ’sh-shuhra?
Answer: It is not obligatory [to do so].
However, if wearing it arouses disapproval by and dislike of the general
public in a particular country, it would be classified as “libăsu
’sh-shuhra” in that country and it would not be permissible to wear
it over there.
- Question: Is it permissible for a
woman in hijăb to learn driving, if her instructor is a non-mahram
and is alone with her during the driving lessons, provided that nothing harăm
takes place in the process?
Answer: It is permissible, provided that
one is immune from falling prey to immorality.
- Question: Some beautician outlets
employ female staff. Is it permissible for a woman among the believers
to engage in applying make up of women —Muslim or non-Muslim— who do not
observe hijăb and who wear make up in the presence of non-mahram
men?
Answer: If that work is considered as a
contributing factor to the harăm act and promoting it, she is not
allowed to do it; however, such a consideration is truly far-fetched.
- Question: Is it permissible for a
woman who does not observe hijăb to get rid of her facial hair, to
straighten her eyebrows, and to wear natural and light make up?
Answer: Getting rid of facial hair and
straightening the eyebrows do not prevent her from keeping her face open
[while putting on the hijăb], provided she is confident of not
getting sucked into something harăm and that exposing her face is
not done with the intention of inviting harăm looks.
- Question: Is it permissible [for a
woman] to dye her hair, fully or partially, in gatherings exclusively for
women with the intention of attracting attention for the purpose of
marriage?
Answer: If dyeing is for a cosmetic
reason and not with the purpose of deceiving (like concealing a defect or
old age), there is no problem in it.
- Question: If a woman puts on a wig
that covers her real hair for the purpose of beauty as well as hijăb,
is she allowed to expose her face now that it looks different?
Answer: She is permitted to use the wig,
yet it is a beauty item that must be concealed from non-mahram men.
- Question: There are some stockings
whose colour matches that used to embellish the legs. Is it permissible for
a young woman to wear it?
Answer: She is allowed to wear it, but
if it is considered a beauty item, it is necessary to conceal it from non-mahram
men.
- Question: Is it permissible to wear
stockings that conceal what is underneath it?
Answer: In principle, there is no
problem in it.
- Question: A Muslim woman nurse visits
patients; part of her work involves touching the body of men, Muslims as
well as non-Muslims. Is this permissible for her, knowing that leaving her
job would make it hard for her to find work? And is there a difference
between touching the body of a Muslim and that of a non-Muslim?
Answer: It is not permissible for a
woman to touch the body of non-mahram man, Muslim and non-Muslim
alike, except when it is necessary, in which case the prohibition is
overridden.
- Question: A Muslim woman wears high
heel shoes that hit the ground in such a way that it draws attention. Is she
allowed to wear it?
Answer: It is not permissible, if it is
intended to draw the attention of non-mahram men to herself, or if it
generally causes temptation [for committing sin].
- Question: Is it permissible for a
woman to wear rings, bangles, or necklace for the sake of beautification?
Answer: It is permissible and it should
be concealed from non-mahram men except for the rings and bangles,
provided that there is no danger of committing that which is harăm,
or that exposing them should not be with the intention of drawing forbidden
attention.
- Question: In the West it is possible
to wear coloured contact lenses. Is it permissible for a Muslim woman to
wear them for the sake of beautification and then appear in front of non-mahram
men?
Answer: If that is considered as an item
of cosmetics, it is not allowed.
- Question: Is it permissible to sell
ova of a woman? Is it permissible to buy them?
Answer: It is permissible.
- Question: In some cases, women start
losing their hair. Is it permissible for them to expose their hair to a
doctor for the sake of treatment, irrespective of whether loss of hair
entails difficulty for them, in that it is just for the sake of
embellishment?
Answer: It is permissible in the case of
difficulty that is normally unbearable; and not without it.
- Question: Is it permissible for a
Muslim woman to join a co-education college in the West in spite of the
moral breakdown, and the laisser-faire attitude of some male and female
students?
Answer: If she is confident that she can
preserve her faith, fulfill her religious duties, including the hijăb,
refrain from harăm looking and touching, and be immune to immoral
and adverse atmosphere, there is no problem in it; otherwise, it is not
allowed.
- Question: In some Western countries,
artists sit on the kerb of public footpaths and paint pictures of those who
wish to get their portraits drawn for a fee. They do so by asking their
customers to pose for them, and then carefully observe their faces in order
to paint their portraits. Is it permissible for a woman with hijăb
to ask the artist to draw her picture?
Answer: She should not do so.
- Question: Is wrestling in its various
forms permissible for women? And are women allowed to look at the semi-naked
bodies of the wrestlers live or on television without lustful thoughts?
Answer: Wrestling is not allowed, if it
involves hurting oneself or the opponent when it crosses the boundary
of haram. It is a obligatory on a woman not to look at the body of a
man, innocently, even on television, with the exception of the head, hands
and feet, and other parts that are not normally concealed.
- Question: Is it permissible for women
to look at the bodies of men who take off their clothes [i.e., shirts]
during the mourning ceremony [when they do the mătam]?
Answer: Based on obligatory precaution,
they should refrain from it.
- Question: A man voluntarily takes the
responsibility of raising a girl, then she grows up into a woman. Is it
obligatory on her to observe hijăb in his presence? Is it obligatory
on him not to look at her hair and not to touch her at all?
Answer: Yes, all that is obligatory; and
her relations with him should be like that of a non-mahram.
- Question: If pregnancy causes great
difficulty for a daughter and a disgrace for her family, is she allowed to
abort the foetus?
Answer: It is permissible before the
soul enters the feotus, if the difficulty reaches a level that is usually
unbearable and there is no way out for her except abortion.
- Question: Is a woman allowed to wear
trousers and take to the streets and markets?
Answer: It is not allowed, if it reveals
the contours of her body or would normally arouse temptation.
- Question: Is it permissible to wear a
wig with the purpose of drawing attention and embellishing oneself in
gatherings that are exclusively for women? Is this counted as “concealing
the shortcomings”?
Answer:There is no problem in it, if it
is done only for beautification, and not for deceiving and concealing
physical drawback, in the case of would-be marriage.
- Question: Is it permissible for a
woman in menses to recite more than seven verses from the Holy Qur’ăn
(other than the verses that require obligatory prostration)? If it is
permissible, is it disliked (makrűh)? And does that mean that she
will be rewarded for reciting, albeit less [than normal]?
Answer: She is allowed to recite other
than the verses that require obligatory prostration; and when it is said,
“it is disliked to recite more than seven verses,” this means that the
reward of such recitation will be less.
