Women exposing their faces in front of non-mahrams

Q: Are women allowed to unveil in front of their brother in laws?

Is it true that the brother in law and sister in law can look at each other provided they “keep it professional”?

A: There is nothing professional when it amounts to breaking the law of Allah Ta`ala. The Quraan Shareef and hadeeth have both condemned men looking at women and women looking at men. These are general statements and not conditional statements of the looks being professional or unprofessional. It is absurd and really a betrayal to Islam that we give our own explanations to the mubaarak great teachings of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and the words of Allah Ta`ala. Make taubah for making these types of interpretations. Come back to the simple pure path of the sunnah. When the most righteous of people, the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu anhum) and the Azwaaj-e-Mutahharaat would even say that we would cover our faces in the presence of the na-mahrams, then where does any person and his professionalism stand before their practice and the mubaarak teaching of Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)?

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)