Beautification is to render somebody or something in a pleasing or beautiful way while to adorn means to make somebody or something look more attractive by decorating it or them with adornments. So how do you beautify and adorn yourself? Is It with that which is halaa lor haraam? Or perhaps you are heedless and do not care about its consequences .. ?
HERS: Allaah says: And tell the believing women to lower their gaze...and not to show off their adornment except only which is apparent. ..and not to reveal! their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers or their husbands fathers, or their sons .or their husbands sons, or their brothers or their brothers sons, or their sisters sons or their (Muslim) women or the female slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigor, or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment..." (Q24:31)
Who to adorn for: Evident from the above ayaah, is the allowance given to the females to adorn themselves even more than the men. However, these adornments should not be displayed except to their husbands and their mahrams (i.e. those ineligible for marriage from amongst their relatives.) as the verse explains.
Where to adorn: Generally, a woman may adorn her face, hands, fingernails, skin, feet and toes up to the ankles. Exposing these parts after adorning them opens the gate to fitna (trials). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) warned against this when he said: "You women folk, have in silver something with which you adorn yourselves. I assure you that any woman of you who adorns herself with gold which she displays will be punished for it. "(Abu Dawood).
Likewise the woman who adorns herself with perfume and spreads her smell amongst strangers is labelled as an adulteress. (Abu Dawood). How evil an appellation This is why some of the people of knowledge say: "Once you have beautified or adorned your body parts, then you must veil such parts when you are going out of your house for a need: And Allaah knows best.
What to adorn with: Kohl: As for using Kohl (antimony) for the eyes, it is done for two reasons, either for medical purposes or for beautification. Abdullah bin Abbaas (RA) narrated: "The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "Apply antimony, for it clears the sight and makes the hair grow"(Tirmidhi). It is also permissible for women to use lipsticks, eye shadows and other makeup for the face. However, this can only be done for the husband alone Women should be careful about the limits of adorning the face. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the cutting of the eyebrows. Abdullah ibn Masud (RA) narrated that "Allah and His Prophet cursed those women who practice tattooing and those who removed hair from their faces and those who created spaces between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, such ladies as changed what Allah has created." (Bukhari)
Jewellery: Gold and silver has been made permissible for the women of this Ummah. However, there is a difference of opinion about the extent of its usage. Some scholars regard it as lawful without any exemption. They based their position on some ahaadith including the following: Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ashart (RA): "The Prophet (peace an blessing be upon him) said: "Gold and silk are permitted to the females among my people but prohibited to the males." (Tirmidhi).
Also, Ali bin Abu Talib (RA) related that the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) took silk and held it in his right hand, and took gold and held it in his left hand and said: "both of these are prohibited to the males of my community (Ummah). "(Abu Dawood). Some other scholars hold the second opinion that women can use gold without exemption as long as due zakaah has been paid.
Some of their evidences include: Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al.As (RA) related: A woman came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessing be upon him) and she was accompanied by her daughter who wore two heavy gold bangles in her hands. He said to her: "Do you pay zakaah on them?" She said: No. He then said: "Are you pleased that Allah may put two bangles of tire on your hands?"Thereupon she took them off and placed them before the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) saying: They are for Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) (Abu Dawood).
Similarly, Umm Salamah (RA) mother of the believers related " I used to wear gold ornaments. I asked: Is that a treasure (kanz), Messenger of Allaah? He replied: Whatever reaches a quantity on which zakaah is payable is not a treasure (kanz) when the zakaah is paid. "(Abu Dawood) Yet there are other scholars whose opinion is that all gold ornaments of circular shapes are excluded from the general , permission granted to women to use gold. Their views are based on the following authentic ahaadith amongst others.
Thaubaan (RA) related: "Bint Hubaira came to the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) wearing large rings of gold (bangles) on her hand. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) began hitting her hand with a small stick, which he had, saying: "Would it please you for Allaah to put rings of fire on your hand ? And so she went to Faatimah to plead her case." Thaubaan. (RA) continued: The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) went to Faatimah and I was with him. She had taken a gold chain from around her neck and she said: This was given to me by Abu Hasan (i.e. Ali her husband), and the chain was In her hand. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) then said: "Oh Faatimah you would be pleased if the people were to say that Faatimah the daughter of Muhammad has a chain of fire on her hand?" Then he became harsh with her, and left her without sitting. She took the chain, sold it, and bought the freedom of a number of slaves. When that reached the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), he said: All praise be to Allaah who has saved Faatimah from the fire." (Ahmad)
It seems safest that the women should stick to silver for their adornments. If they so desire, it may be coated (electroplated) with materials having similar color as gold but not gold. This is based on the Prophets advice Aisha (RA) said: The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) saw two twisted bracelets made of gold on her wrist. He said: "Cast them away from yourself, and put in their place two bracelets made of silver and dye them yellow with Saffron. (Saheeh an-Nasaaee). And Allaah knows best.
Perfumes: It is also permissible for women to use perfume but with a restriction. Abu Hurairah (RA) related: The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "...Beware! The perfume of men is that whose smell becomes visible and its colour does not appear. Beware! The perfume of women is that whose colour becomes visible and whose smell is not obvious .. : (Abu Dawood).
As a believing woman you should resist the temptation of adorning yourself with perfume outside of your home. Those who do so are the adulteresses. Abu Musa AI-Ashari (RA) related; "The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "Any woman who wears perfume and then passes by some people (men) so that they smell her perfume, she is an adulteress (by that)." (Abu Dawood) Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allaah), perfumes without alcohol are now readily available and abundant and you are better off using them than those with alcohol And Allaah knows best.
HIS: Jewellery : Gold ornaments,. be it wristwatches, necklaces, rings, bracelets and chains and all other forms besides these are forbiden for the Muslim men (except for health reasons). Narrated Abu Musa AI-Ashari (RA): The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "Gold and silk are permitted to the females among my people but prohibited to the males." (Tirmidtli). Also forbidden for them are ornaments made from iron Abdullah bin Amr (RA) related that Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw one of his Companions wearing a gold ring, so he turned away from him. The man then threw that ring away .and wore a ring made of iron.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him " this is worse! This is the jewellery of the people of Hell And so the man threw that ring away and put on a ring of silver. The Prophet (peace and blessings Allaah be upon him) said nothing about that (Ahmad) The Muslim man does not pierce his ears in order to hang ornaments on them and look fashionable or civilized?. This is ignorance, imitating women and seeking to pass blame to Allaah for making them the way they are (i.e. males). Those who do this are also guilty of changing the creation of Allaah and following the footsteps of Shaytaan.
The Muslim male may use a silver ring as was done by the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him). Anas (RA) related: "When the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) decided to write (letters) to non Arabs (i.e. Persian and Byzantine Emperors) it was said to him that non Arabs would not accept a letter but that having a seal over it; so he (peace and blessing be upon him) got a silver ring made. Anas (RA) said: "I perceive as if I am looking at its brightness in his hand" (Muslim). . Perfumes: The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) permitted the males among his Companions to use perfumes especially on the day of Jumuah (Friday-Abu Said Al;;Khudri (RA) reported: " testify that Allaah's Messenger said: The taking of a bath on Friday is compulsory for every male Muslim who has attained the age of puberty and (also) the cleaning of his teeth with Siwak, and the using of perfume if it is available." (Bukhari).
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited