Purdah is not ordered by the Holy Quran?

In the Holy Quran the Purdah for women has been dealt with in 7 verses. 3 verses of Surah Noor and 4 verses of Surah Ahzaab. There are about 70 Hadith in which the rules of Purdah have been described.

 

With the husband, there is no Purdah. The husband can see the wife from head to toe and vice versa. It is mentioned in etiquettes (aadaab) that they should not see each other’s private parts. As given in Mausu’atul Fiqhiya, Vol. 1, Pg No: 53). About other relatives like father, brother etc., the rule is that from a woman’s navel to her knees, nobody can see. Nobody from the Maharim can see this area of a woman’s body. Other parts like face, ankles, arms etc can be seen provided there is no fear of corruption, as given in

 

(Hidayah Kitab Ul Karahiya, Pg No: 461) .

 

Allah Ta’ala says about seeing the Maharim in verse 31 of Surah Noor:

 

That they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers,..........

 

According to this verse, it is allowed to reveal one’s beauty before them and revealing one’s beauty means revealing the areas of beauty. The wrists, ears, neck, feet are all included in this. These are called the areas of beauty i.e. the areas where beauty is expressed. If there is any fear of any corruption, then even the face should be covered. If there is no such fear, then there is no problem in keeping the face and palms uncovered. As said by Allah Ta’ala:

 

That they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof;

 

As given in Hidayah (Kitabul Karahiya, Pg No: 452) that according to Hadhrat Ali and Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (May Allah be well pleased with them) that except “what (ordinarily) appear thereof” means the Kohl of the eyes and the ring.

Hadith:

 

Translation: Hadhrat Asma bint Abu Bakr (May Allah be well pleased with them) came to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and she was wearing thin clothes. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) turned His face away from her and said: O Asma! When a woman comes of age, then her body parts being visible is not correct, excepting this and He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) gestured towards His face and His palms.

 

The most attractive part of the human body is the face and it is this body part which has the abilities of seeing, hearing and talking which may lead a person to immodesty. For this reason, the Shariah has commanded the woman to cover her face and not allow any unrelated person’s eyes to fall on her face.

 

There are strict warnings in Hadith about seeing an unrelated woman’s face with desire. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: Whoever looks at the beauty of a woman with desire, on the Day of Judgment, molted lead will be poured into his eyes.

 

The face is not included in Satar (those body parts covering whom is compulsory) but because of the general corruption of the times, the Fuqaha (Hon’ble Jurists) have made it compulsory to cover the face and not reveal before an unrelated male, so while wearing the Burqa, it is necessary that a woman cover her face, her ankles, and her palms as well. As given in

 

(Durre Mukhtaar, Vol. 5, Pg No: 261)

 

It is universally agreed upon that seeing an unrelated face with desire is forbidden.

 

According to the Fiqh Hanafi, the Hanafi school of Fiqh, it is allowed to reveal the face of a woman, but in this age of corruption it is better to cover it. It is allowed for a woman to reveal her face to a Qazi, a witness. It is allowed to see the face of the woman whom you desire to marry, as it is a means to develop love. It is allowed for a doctor to see the diseased part of the body. Those parts of a woman’s body which are to be covered cannot be seen even when they are separated from the body. This is the ruling about the hair, nails of a woman.

 

The parts which cannot be revealed cannot be touched or felt as well. The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said: whoever touches the palm of a woman with whom he had no valid relation, on the Day of Judgment, fire will be placed on that palm.

 

(Takmila fath ul Qadeer, Hidayah, kitabul Karahiya, Vol. 4, Pg No: 459)