Hadiths About Hands, Henna, and Rings

Someone asked for the proof that it is unnecessary to cover the hands qith gloves when wearing rings or having henna on them (so long as you intention in doing so is not to differentiate yourself in social rank or draw mens' attention to yourself):

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: “A woman made a sign from behind a curtain to indicate that she had a letter for the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) closed his hand, saying: I do not know this is a man's or a woman's hand. She said: No, a woman. He said: If you were a woman, you would make a difference to your nails, meaning with henna”. Here the Mufasereen of hadith have explained that the hadith where women came up to Rasulullah (peace be upon him) face to face were before the ayah "And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen, that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts." (Surah Al­-Ahzab ayah # 53).[Abu Dawood Book 33, Hadith # 4154 Agreed upon by Nasai]
Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) : Stated that in verse 30 and 31 of Surah An Nur "What has been allowed to be shown is the hands, bangles and rings but the face must be covered.
(Quoted by Shaikh Abdul A'la Maududi in the book Purdah P# 195 and in his Tafseer of Quran under the tafseer of Surah An Nur)

Comments

Aasalam alaikum. I wear henna on my hands but i draw pretty designs and such. I want to know if this is Haram or halal.

Jazak Allah Khair

xoxoxo
Sara
everjihad said…
salam'alaykum

I am finding something to read about niqab. your post appear on the first time i google it ( although before this i have search about it but its quite a long time. )

I just want to find something about niqab to strenghten my faith and intention to wear it.

Currently, I do wear it. But on-off. Sometimes I wear it sometimes I don't. Depends on place and depends when I feel I want and can wear it.

My family is fine with it. But my father seems not really agree with me. He said it is not wajib. True. I don't deny it.

Sometimes I take it off because I afraid of people's perception on me. Sometimes, I dont really care. I just do it.

Is it okay with that?

I know, it is good and better to be istiqamah in what we are doing so that we have the courage.

however, i just dont get it. maybe I need to make my closer to Allah if I really choose this path.

anyway, seems you live in canada, may I know which part? I am going to be in toronto in couple of weeks from now. I will studying in University of Toronto in International Relations insha Allah.

sometimes i just feel i want to do it.( i mean to wear niqab). but sometimes i feel discourage when I look at myself that still not good in akhlak(especially at home) and also my weakness.

if you don't mind, I hope i can have your personal email.

salam 'alayk.
Om Rawda said…
Jazack Allah Khairan Pixie , i'm so relieved now that i saw the evidences !!!
Thank you :)


But does this mean woman have to cover their faces in general or only when they ask about something??? how about markets and such??

The ayah "And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen, that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts."
Isn't it specifically for Umhat Almu'mnun ??
Pixie said…
Sarah: wa alaykom e salaam ramatullah wa barakto.
This was proof to me that a simple manner of decoration (i.e beautifying the hands with henna) was halal and accepted as permissable in the time of the Prophet sallalahu alahi wa salaam. It was considered to be feminine, but the was A GOOD thing back then, it was not seen as flirtatious, just a matter of being feminine. I think your pretty designs are fine and the sleeve of your jilbab may cover most of your hand anyway.
Pixie said…
everjihad: wa alaykom e salaam ramatullah wa barakto...if you believe niqab is mustahaab rather than fard it is of course permissiable for you to do it some of the time rather than all of the time, but if you are doing it for Allah subhanhu wa ta'ala's pleasure, then it is said in a hadith that I am having trouble remembering the narration of, the best of acts are those done consistantly.

If you want some evidence it could be fard, read my "why would you want to go and wear niqab in the West" post. The link is on my sidebar.
Pixie said…
Om Rawda: afwan sister. Many women of the sahaba followed the example of the Prophet's wives (may Allah be pleased with them) and covered their faces, as this was advised as best for them. It was made an obligation on the wives, but the women of the Sahaba (including Asmaa who was not the prophet's wife, Hafsah bint Sirīn, Umm Khallad (who were not the Prophet's wives), and Um Salamah BEFORE she married the Prophet sallalahu alahi wa salaam) did it as well, as is evidence by this hadith where the women who was not the Prophet's wife, wused the partition of a screen to speak to the Prophet sallalahu alahi wa salaam inside a enclosed area. In the public life, that screen is a jilbab that includes facial covering. But if you are not of the opinion that the face must covered, you do not have to do this. It is recommended for all women (purer for our hearts) but not obliged.
Stacy K. said…
Of course, even though it is allowed, in certain places it might attract unwanted attention even if you are otherwise covered.
UniMuslimah said…
Salaam alaikum,
Thank you for posting this- for a while I was confused about covering the hands (a lot of the hadiths I had quoted to me about it being mandatory turned out to be poorly translated) so it's nice to have it plainly shown as either halal or haram with this hadith.

JazakAllah kheir for the informative post.

Cheers.
Anonymous said…
All: It is halal to wear, as are jingling anklets, but we are not to go out of our way to attract attention with it--so if someone IS staring, pull your sleeve over your hand, that simple. Your jilbab should be long enough to pull over everything but your fingers if you needed to.
Anonymous said…
Behind a screen refers to not running in and looking at his wives... It was said Prophet Muhammed (pbuh( was a personal person and abided by specific manners when it came to visiting one's house, subhan Allah