سورة النور

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In another verse He has said: قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِناتِ یَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصارِهِنَّ وَ یَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ [Say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts] — meaning, just as they guard their private parts, they should likewise guard their eyes from looking at this one and that, for looking at faces is a cause of fornication and other things.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِلَّا ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها [except what appears thereof] — what is meant is the face and the forearms.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Fudayl ibn Yasar said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), "Are the forearms of women part of the adornment which Allah the Exalted refers to when He says: وَ لَا یُبْدِینَ زِینَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ [and let them not display their adornment except to their husbands]?" That Imam (peace be upon him) replied, "Yes, and what is below the head-covering and what is below the bracelets is part of the adornment."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا [except what appears thereof] — what is meant by the apparent adornment is kohl and the ring.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that concerning the verse إِلَّا ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها [except what appears thereof] he said: "That is, the face and the two forearms." It is also narrated from him that concerning إِلَّا ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها he said: "The visible ornament is kohl and the ring." And in another narration he said: "The visible ornament is the ring and the bracelet, and by وَ لا یُبْدِینَ زِینَتَهُنَّ [and let them not display their ornaments] what is meant is the necklace, the earrings, the bracelet, the bangle and the anklet."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the narration of Abu al-Jarud it is reported: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), concerning the word of Allah وَ لا یُبْدِینَ زِینَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها [and let them not display their ornaments except what appears thereof], said: "The visible ornament comprises clothing, kohl, the ring, the dyeing of the palm of the hand, and the bracelet. Ornament [whose display is not objectionable] is of three kinds: an ornament for ordinary people, an ornament for the mahram, and an ornament for the husband. As for the ornament [whose display] is permissible for [ordinary] people, it is that which we have stated; as for the ornament for the mahram, it is the place where the necklace is fastened and above it, the place where the armband is fastened and below it, and the place where the anklet is fastened and below it. As for the ornament for the husband, it is the entire body of the woman."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is not fitting for a Muslim woman to bare her body before a Jewish woman or a Christian woman, for they describe it to their husbands.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) cursed those women who do not apply dye [for their husbands] and do not apply kohl to their eyes. He likewise cursed the woman whose husband calls her to intercourse and she says, "I shall come" [and keeps her husband waiting], and the woman whose husband calls her to intercourse and she says, "I am in the state of menstruation," while she is not.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muawiya ibn Ammar said: We were with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), close to thirty men, when my father entered upon him. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) welcomed him and seated him at his side, and turned to him and spoke with him for a long while. Then Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Abu Muawiya has a matter [to discuss]; if you would depart." So we all rose. My father said to me: "Come back, O Muawiya." So I returned, and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "This is your son?" He said: "Yes, and he claims that the people of Medina do something which is not lawful for them." He (peace be upon him) said: "And what is that?" I said: "The Qurayshi and Hashimi women mount [horses], place their hands on the heads of black slaves, and cast their arms upon their necks." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "My son, have you not read the Qur'an?" I said: "Yes." He (peace be upon him) said: "Read this verse: 'There is no blame on women concerning their fathers, their sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their (fellow) women, or their slaves [that they should be seen by them], and you should fear Allah; indeed Allah is ever Witness over all things.' (al-Ahzab/55)" Then he said: "O my son! There is no harm in the slave seeing the hair and the shin of his mistress."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurara said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about the word of Allah: أَوِ التّابِعِینَ غَیْرِ أُولِی الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِینَ لَمْ یَظْهَرُوا عَلی عَوْراتِ النِّساءِ وَ لا یَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِیُعْلَمَ ما یُخْفِینَ مِنْ زِینَتِهِنَّ وَ تُوبُوا إِلَی اللهِ جَمِیعاً أَیُّهَا المُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّکُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ [Or the male servants not having need (of women), or the children who have not attained knowledge of what is hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known; and turn to Allah all of you, O believers! so that you may be successful]. That Imam (peace be upon him) said: "What is meant is the feeble-minded man who has no desire for women."

Ali ibn Ibrahim: أَوِ التَّابِعِینَ غَیْرِ أُولِی الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجال [Or the male servants not having need (of women)] — what is meant by غَیْرِ أُوْلِی الْإِرْبَةِ is the decrepit old man who has no need of women, and the child who cannot recognize the private parts of women.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In Madinah there were two men, one named Hit and the other named Mani'. While the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was hearing what they said, they said to a man: "Allah willing, when you conquer Ta'if, go to the daughter of Ghaylan al-Thaqafi, for she is a witty, wide-eyed, beautiful, slender-waisted woman with white teeth. Whenever she sits she leans to one side, and when she opens her tongue to speak it is as though she is singing. She comes forward with four things and turns back with eight, and between her legs is something like a goblet [of wine]." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "I do not think you are among the men who have no desire for women." So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) ordered that they be taken to a place called al-'Araya so that they would be kept away from women. These two would come to the market on Fridays for trade.

Ali ibn Ibrahim: What is meant by وَ لا یَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِیُعْلَمَ ما یُخْفِینَ مِنْ زِینَتِهِنَّ [and let them not strike their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may be known] is that women should not strike one foot against the other so that the sound of the anklet rises from it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forbade a woman from striking her feet on the ground so that the sound of her anklet [which she wears on her foot] would reach [the ear of a non-mahram man] and her hidden ornaments would become manifest.