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Fatwa CenterThe parts of the body which a person is permitted to look at in a woman when proposing for marriage
Question
A religious person proposed to marry a religious girl. She acted according to a Fatwa from Shaykh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, in which he says that the correct opinion is that it is permissible for a woman to show her hair in order to show her beauty [to the person who wants to marry her], so she wore a head scarf showing some of her hair, and she applied an eyeliner and light make up. So the man refused her because of this behaviour. Is he right in doing so, and is she sinful for acting in that manner?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
According to the most authoritative opinion of the Hanbali school, it is permissible for a person who proposes for marriage to look at the parts of the body of the girl which usually appear when working, like the face, the arms, and the feet, and in another opinion it is permissible to look at her head and legs. This is the preponderant opinion of Shaykh Ibn Baaz
as he said: 'The correct opinion is that there is no harm for a person who proposes for marriage to look at her head, face, arms and legs, based on the said narration.'
So, if a woman acts according to the above opinion, she is not to be blamed, and acting according to this Fatwa does not mean that she is not religious to an extent that the man who proposed to marry her would refuse her just because of that. Nonetheless, what we adopt as the preponderant opinion is that of the Hanafi, Shaafi'ee and Maaliki schools, and the view of some scholars of the Hanbali school
that a person who proposes for marriage is permitted to look at the face and hands of the woman only. This is clarified in Fatwa 88012, so please refer to it.
Allaah Knows best.
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