Laws of Beautification and Adornment

[ummtaalib]

Laws of Beautification and Adornment

 

 

Question:

 

I wanted to know what is permissible to do to adorn myself for my husband. I wanted an answer that covers all aspects, such as coloured jilbabs, wearing lingerie, cutting hair, wigs, lipstick, nail polish etc. Also what about imitation jewellery, perfumes?

____________________________

 

Answer:

 

Foreword by Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafidhahullah)

 

Beauty and adornment is the nature of women. Shariah also encourages women to beautify themselves for their husbands. If a woman adorns herself within the limitations of Shariah, that is an act of virtue. If she trespasses the limits of Shariah in beautifying herself, it will be a vice.

 

We are inundated with requests from women to present some guidelines on beautification and adornment for women in Shariah.

 

Moulana Huzaifah Deedat Sallamahu has researched the topic and presented guidelines on more than 20 means of beautification with relevant references. We hope this article will make a useful read and guidance.

 

May Allah Ta'āla accept the efforts of Moulana Huzaifah Deedat and grant him qabuilyyah. Ameen.

 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu 'alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 

In an environment which constantly emphasizes the physical form through various media, women are constantly faced with an unattainable standard of beauty. Although Muslim women are falsely classified as oppressed based on their modest dress, they are in fact liberated from such objectification by the society around them. This modest appearance, which includes veiling, highlights a woman's personality and character instead of her physical figure and promotes a deeper appreciation for who she is as a person.

 

However, Islam is not averse to women adorning themselves for their husbands and exemplify her beauty and elegance using permissible means. In fact, Islam encourages this. In this way she will appear more beautiful and alluring to him. Just as clothing wraps a person, a woman should beautify herself so that she wraps her husband's attention exclusively for herself. She should captivate his attention and imagination by fulfilling all his permissible desires.

 

Every time the husband and wife glance at each other, the glance should arouse them and stir up more love for their spouse. This will create harmony and amicability and it will be a means of creating a serene, blissful and peaceful married life.If every day of the marriage can mirror the first day of marriage, and every night reflect the first night of marriage, then the marriage will be a euphoric experience on this world.   The gentleness, passion, love, tenderness displayed on the first day and night of the marriage should be portrayed throughout one's life. 

It is also important to note that shame and modesty is emphasized in Shariah. It is one of the core values and standard of Islam. Shame and modesty should also be expressed through one's attire and conduct. As Muslims we should distinguish ourselves from non-muslims in every possible way. Our attire should not resemble their attire nor any of their traits. 

 

The following items that will be mentioned for beatification purposes should be within the limits of the Shari`ah and to gain the pleasure of the husband.

 

COLOURED JILBABS

It is permissible to wear a jilbab of any colour. However, the colour should not be attractive.

 

LINGERIE

It is permissible to wear any types of clothes when one is in total privacy with her husband.

 

CUTTING HAIR

It is prohibited for women to cut or trim their hair in any way even though to appease her husband or instructed by him.Cutting hair in layers is also prohibited.

 

DYING OR BLEACHING

It is permissible to dye or bleach one's hair any colour besides black on condition there no impure ingredients in the dye and not imitating the way of immoral people.

 

PIERCING

It is permissible to pierce the nose and ears. 

It is not permissible to pierce any other part of the body such as belly, tongue etc. as it is the custom of the fussaq (transgressors).

 

ARTIFICIAL WIGS AND HAIR EXTENSIONS

It is permissible to wear wigs or hair extensions made out of,

• Synthetic hair.
• Animal hair except Pig hair.

It is not permissible to wear wigs or hair extensions made out of,

• Human hair.
• Pig hair.

Wigs should not be worn for the purpose of deception and pretense.

 

HAIR STRAIGHTENING

It is permissible to use hair straightening cosmetics provided they don't contain impure ingredients.If the product is water soluble, it will be permissible to do masah on it whilst making wudhu.

PLUCKING EYEBROWS

It is not permissible to pluck the eyebrows.If one's eyebrows are bushy and thick one may neaten them by removing stray ends.

 

HAIR REMOVAL CREAMS

It is permissible to use hair removal creams to remove unwanted facial hair such as beard hair or moustache provided they don't contain impure ingredients.

 

FAKE EYELASHES

It is permissible to wear fake eyelashes on condition they are not made from human or pig hair.

 

It would be advisable to visit a medical practitioner before using fake eyelashes as they often lead to chronic allergies.

 

LIPSTICKS

It is permissible to use lipsticks on condition they don't contain impure ingredients.

Most of the lipsticks on the market contain carmine. Carmine also called cochineal, cochineal extract, crimson lake or carmine lake, natural red 4, C.I. 75470,or E120, is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained by crushing and boiling dried insects in water to extract the carminic acid. Carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, crimson ink, rouge, and other cosmetics, and is routinely added to food products such as yogurt, candy and certain brands of juice.

 

In principle, it is impermissible to consume insects or its products. There is a strong possibility of intake of lipstick through licking etc., therefore, lipstick having carmine is not permissible.

 

LIQUID MATTE

Liquid Matte contains the pigment of a lipstick, and the glide and sheen of a gloss. The same ruling will apply as lipsticks.

 

EYE-LINERS/EYE SHADOW

It is permissible to use eye-liners or eye shadows on condition they don't contain impure ingredients.It is permissible to use eye-liners or eye shadows containing carmine.

 

MAKE UP

It is permissible to use any type of makeup on condition they don't contain impure ingredients. In order to determine the permissibility of the make ups one should look out for the sign stating if the products are vegan friendly. 

 

NAIL POLISH

It is permissible to use nail polish on condition that it should be removed for wudhu.

 

MEHNDI

It is permissible to decorate the hands, nails and feet with henna.

 

ARTIFICIAL NAILS

It is permissible to put on artificial nails; however, they should be removed when doing wudhu.

 

COLOURED CONTACT LENSES

It is permissible to wear colored contact lens to beautify oneself for the pleasure of the husband.

 

RINGS

Rings made out of gold and silver are permitted.

Rose gold and white gold rings are also permitted if the gold content is predominant.

 

In principle, if the ring is made of an alloy of different metals then the ring will take the ruling of whichever metal is predominant in the alloy. For example, if the finger ring is made of an alloy containing 37.5% platinum, 10% silver and 52.5% gold, the ring will be considered to be of gold and therefore it will be permissible for a woman to wear it.

 

IMITATION RINGS

It is not permissible for women to wear imitation rings.

 

PLATINUM RINGS

It is not permissible for women to wear platinum rings.

 

IMITATION JEWELLERY

It is permissible to wear other jewellery besides rings for example, necklace, bracelet, etc. that are made from other metals besides gold or silver.

 

FRAGRANCES

Perfumes contain alcohol. If the alcohol in the perfumes are derived from dates and grapes, then it is impure.However, if the alcohol is not derived from grapes and dates, or it is synthetic, it is pure and permissible to use.Generally perfumes have synthetic alcohol.

 

And Allah Ta'āla Knows Best

 

Huzaifah Deedat

Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia

 

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

 

For the full Q&A with references click Here