Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir
To the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Feqhi"
To Abdullah Ibn Al-Mufakkir
Question:
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, our esteemed sheikh. I ask Allah to preserve you, keep you in good health for this Da'wah and Deen and grant you a long life in His Ibadah and make you a witness to reestablishment of the second Khilafah Rashidah. I ask Allah to preserve and strengthen the Dawah, to the Islamic way of life, and to unite our Ummah under one banner. Ameen.
My question is about men looking at women. In the West, most women expose their awrah (hair and arms at a minimum - almost everything in summer and heat). I am under the impression that seeing their awrah is haram for men, regardless of if they are attractive or ugly women, just as it's haram for a man to see the awrah of another man even though he has no attraction to him.
I understand that the supposed 'First glance' is permissible, and any looking after the initial look is haram. In the day-to-day lives of people in the West, a man will encounter awrah-exposing women everyday. In cases such as driving or walking, he can manage to have just one glance, however, this is practically impossible in the work place, school, and shopping places.
It's essentially impossible for a man to interact with female co-workers without seeing their awrah. If he only saw her awrah once, for every other interaction with her, he would have to close his eyes or look at the floor. Here, I'm not referring to looking with any lust. Maybe the female co-worker is ugly, but for interaction, the man still has to look at her awrah - but he is only permitted can only look once (as I understand).
A Muslim student wouldn't be able to participate in a class where a female teacher is showing her awrah. After looking at her in the beginning of the lesson, it would be impermissible to look at her for the rest of the lesson, even if she is old or ugly. She is showing her awrah, which is haram to look at.
The situation is similar for shopping as well.
The man wouldn't be able to interact with the woman except by looking at the floor or closing his eyes. Even if she's ugly, he still cannot look at her awrah.
My question:
Is my assumption correct - that looking at a foreign woman's awrah is haram except for the first glance, even if she is ugly, just as looking at a man's awrah is haram despite there being no attraction to him？ If it's haram, would work involving interacting with awrah-exposing women be permissible on a case-by-case basis, based on daroorah?
Can you please practically explain the first glance?
Can you also please practically explain what lower their gazs "Yaghuddhoo Absarihin/Absarahim" means and when it should be done?
Jazakumullahu Khairan dear Shaikh
From: Saifudeen Abdullah
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
Regarding the widespread exposure of awrah which is difficult to avoid under the current circumstances in countries that do not implement Islam, Allah has commanded us with two things for such cases:
First: To lower the gaze (ghadd al-basar), which means to lower the sight as much as is necessary to walk and perform tasks.
Second: Not to follow the sudden glance with another glance.
We have detailed this in The Social System in Islam regarding the answer to your question, where we stated:
"...Ever since Western civilization invaded us and the lands of the Muslims were ruled by the systems of kufr, non-Muslim women began to go out semi-naked: exposing their chests, backs, hair, arms, and legs. Some Muslim women began to imitate them, going out to the markets in this manner, until one can no longer distinguish between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim woman while she is walking in the market or standing in a shop bargaining over a purchase. The Muslim men living in these cities cannot, on their own, currently remove this munkar (evil), nor can they live in these cities without seeing these awrah. This is because the nature of the life they live and the design of the buildings they inhabit necessitate that a man will see the awrah of a woman. It is impossible for any man to guard himself against seeing the awrah of women—their arms, chests, backs, legs, and hair—no matter how hard he tries not to look, except if he stays in his house and never leaves it. This is not possible for him at all, as he needs to establish relations with people in buying and selling, hiring and working, and other necessities of life. He cannot perform these tasks while being completely shielded from seeing these awrah. The prohibition of looking at them is explicit in the Book and the Sunnah, so what should he do? The solution to this problem lies in two situations:
One of them is the sudden glance (nadharat al-fuja’ah), which is what he sees on the road. This first glance is excused, but he must not repeat it with a second glance. This is based on what was narrated by Jarir bin Abdullah who said:
سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَنْ نَظْرَةِ الْفُجَاءَةِ فَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَصْرِفَ بَصَرِي
“I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the sudden glance, and he commanded me to avert my gaze.” (Narrated by Muslim).
And on the authority of Ali (ra), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me:
لَا تُتْبِعِ النَّظْرَةَ النَّظْرَةَ، فَإِنَّمَا لَكَ الْأُولَى، وَلَيْسَتْ لَكَ الْآخِرَةُ
“Do not follow one glance with another, for you are permitted the first but not the second.” (Narrated by Ahmad from Buraidah).
As for the second situation, which is speaking to a woman who is exposing her head, arms, and what she customarily exposes, he must avert his gaze from her and lower it, based on what Al-Bukhari narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas (ra):
كَانَ الْفَضْلُ رَدِيفَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَجَاءَتْ امْرَأَةٌ مِنْ خَثْعَمَ فَجَعَلَ الْفَضْلُ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهَا وَتَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ فَجَعَلَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ يَصْرِفُ وَجْهَ الْفَضْلِ إِلَى الشِّقِّ الْآخَرِ
“Al-Fadl was riding behind the Prophet ﷺ when a woman from Khath'am came. Al-Fadl started looking at her and she at him, so the Prophet ﷺ turned Al-Fadl's face to the other side.”
Allah the Exalted said:
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts.” (QS. An-Nur [24]: 30).
What is meant by lowering the gaze is to look down. Thus, the treatment for this problem is the man lowering his gaze while continuing his work, such as necessary conversation with her, or riding in a car, or sitting on a balcony due to extreme heat, and the like. These needs are among the necessities of public life for a man; he cannot do without them and he does not have the power to stop this affliction of exposed awrah. Therefore, he must lower his gaze in accordance with the text of the Ayah, and nothing else is permissible for him at all.
It cannot be said here that this is a 'widespread affliction' (ammat bihi al-balwa) which is difficult to guard against. This rule contradicts the Sharia; the Haram does not become Halal because it is widespread, nor does the Halal become Haram because it is widespread. It also cannot be said that these are disbelieving women and should be treated as female slaves (imaa'), such that their awrah is like that of a slave woman. This cannot be said because the Hadith is general regarding women and did not specify the Muslim woman. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إنَّ الْجَارِيَةَ إذَا حَاضَتْ لَمْ تَصْلُحْ أَنْ يُرَى مِنْهَا إلَّا وَجْهُهَا وَيَدَاهَا إلَى الْمِفْصَلِ
“When a girl reaches the age of menstruation, it is not right for anything to be seen of her except her face and her hands up to the wrist.”
This is explicit regarding the prohibition of looking at a woman, whether she is a Muslim or a non-Muslim, and it is general for all situations, including this one. A disbelieving woman cannot be compared to a slave woman because there is no basis for such an analogy.
...Those who live in cities and are forced to engage in society or deal with disbelieving women who expose their awrah—by buying from them, speaking to them, hiring from them, renting to them, selling to them, or otherwise—must lower their gaze during that time and limit themselves to what is necessary for their needs." End quote.
I hope this answer is sufficient for your question. Allah is the All-Knowing, Most Wise.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
09 Dhu al-Hijjah 1442 AH Corresponding to 19/07/2021 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer’s (may Allah protect him) Facebook page: Facebook
Link to the answer from the Ameer’s (may Allah protect him) website: Web