Fatwa: # 21419
Category: Misc. Fiqh
Country: United States
Date: 10th July 2012

Title

Can women wear dresses as abayahs? And, as an abayah is supposed to be a loose article piece over a woman's clothes, can be it fancy?

Question

Assalamwalaikum,

1. When do question sessions open up, because I've been trying this for 2 years and this is the first time it has opened for me? 

2. Can women wear dresses as abayahs? And, as an abayah is supposed to be a loose article piece over a woman's clothes, can be it fancy? Colored? Are there certain rulings regarding this?

Answer

Assalāmu `alaikum Warahmatullāhi Wabrakatuh,

1. The session opens at 9:00 AM in the morning and remains open until the daily quota of questions has been submitted.

2. When a woman comes out of her home her entire self should be covered in such a way that the form and shape of the body should be concealed. The covering should also not attract any attention. If the dress is loose enough and serves the objective, it will suffice. The dress being fancy will attract attention and defeat the purpose of concealing oneself.

And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best,

Muftī Ebrahim Desai

Daruliftaa
35 Candella Rd, Durban, South Africa
T : 031-207-5772 F: 086-692-7275

www.daruliftaa.net

DISCLAIMER - AskImam.org questions
AskImam.org answers issues pertaining to Shar'ah. Thereafter, these questions and answers are placed for public view on www.askimam.org for educational purposes. However, many of these answers are unique to a particular scenario and cannot be taken as a basis to establish a ruling in another situation or another environment. Askimam.org bears no responsibility with regards to these questions being used out of their intended context.
  • The Shar's ruling herein given is based specifically on the question posed and should be read in conjunction with the question.
  • AskImam.org bears no responsibility to any party who may or may not act on this answer and is being hereby exempted from loss or damage howsoever caused.
  • This answer may not be used as evidence in any Court of Law without prior written consent of AskImam.org.
  • Any or all links provided in our emails, answers and articles are restricted to the specific material being cited. Such referencing should not be taken as an endorsement of other contents of that website.
The Messenger of Allah said, "When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]