Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamualaikum,

Dear Brothers.

I want to know that islam allows a women to cover her body except her face, hands and feet.If the face and hands are allowed to be open then Can a women do make-up on her face and wear rings and mehndi on her hands.

Allah Hafiz

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Answer:

Makeup and mehndi

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 59: O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons. It is expected that they will thus be recognized, and not molested. Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Nur verse 31: (O Prophet) enjoin the believing woman to restrain their gaze and guard their modesty, and not to display their adornment except that which is displayed of itself, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to display their adornments except before their husbands, their fathers, …….and also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, Allah has commanded the believing woman to guard her modesty, and not to put herself and her beauty on display in front of non-mehram males of the society, so that she may be recognized as a righteous God-fearing woman. Although there is no specific Shariah restriction on a believing woman, who is Islamically covered, applying adornments like make-up, henna, ornaments, etc.; it would be purer and closer to the spirit of the commandment of ‘hijaab’ for the believing woman if she did not adorn herself in the face of non-mehram males. But if a woman fears attracting the attention of non-mehram males towards her, then she should abstain from applying beauty adornments, except in front of her mehrams.

If a woman, although fully covered, moves around in public with full make-up and all her adornments on display, it is obvious that she will attract the lust-filled and undue attention of other non-mehram males. Such a woman, although covered, would be closer to the violation of the law and guidance of the ‘hijaab’.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 48.7

Narrated Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "Women who are naked even though they are wearing clothes, go astray and make others go astray, and they will not enter Paradise and they will not find its scent, and its scent is experienced from as far as the distance travelled in five hundred years."

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6840 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘There are two types, amongst the denizens of Hell, I have yet not seen them. One possessing whips like the tail of an ox and they flog people with them. (The second are) the women who would be naked in spite of their being dressed, who are seduced (to wrong paths) and seduce others with their hair high like humps. These women would not get into Paradise and they would not perceive the odour of Paradise, although its fragrance can be perceived from such and such distance (from great distance).’

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan