Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:31
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His praise, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say to the believing women of your community that they should lower their gaze from what Allah forbids them to look upon, and that they should guard their private parts from being seen by those who have no right to do so, by wearing clothing that covers them from the eyes of onlookers.
His statement وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ (and they should not display their adornment) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: they should not display their adornment to people who are not maḥram to them. There are two kinds of adornment: the hidden adornment, such as the anklets, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces; and the visible adornment, concerning which the exegetes of this verse differ.
Some said: the visible adornment is the (outer) clothing.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Abū l-Aḥwaṣ, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd — he said: adornment is of two kinds: the visible is the clothing, and the hidden are the anklets, the earrings, and the bracelets.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed me, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Hamdānī, on the authority of Abū l-Aḥwaṣ, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh — that he said concerning وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا : he said — that is the clothing.
Others said: the visible adornment which she is permitted to display is: the kohl (kuḥl), the ring, the bracelets, and the face.
Mention of those who said this:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Marwān related to us, saying: Muslim al-Mulāʾī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا — he said: the kuḥl and the ring.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiyah related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: the visible adornment is: the face, the kohl of the eyes, the henna of the palm, the ring — this she displays to visitors who come to her in her house.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا — he said: the armlets, the ring, and the kuḥl. And Qatāda said: it has reached me that the Prophet ﷺ said: "It is not permissible for a believing woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to display her hand except up to here." And he grasped the half of his forearm.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: Ibn Jurayj said: and ʿĀʾisha said: she displays the armlet and the ring. And ʿĀʾisha said: the daughter of my maternal brother, ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ṭufayl, came to me beautifully adorned. When the Prophet ﷺ entered, he turned his gaze away. ʿĀʾisha said: O Messenger of Allah, she is the daughter of my brother, a young girl. He said: "When a woman has had her first menstruation, she may not display anything except her face and what is below this." And he grasped his own forearm, leaving a space between his grip and the palm, the space of another grip.
Ibn Jurayj said: Mujāhid said concerning إِلا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا : the kuḥl, the henna, and the ring.
The most correct opinion concerning that, in our judgment, is: that what is meant by the visible is the face and the two palms — under which then fall: the kuḥl, the ring, the bracelet, and the henna. The reason we hold this to be the most correct judgment is the ijmāʿ of all that every praying woman may uncover her face and palms in her prayer, and must cover everything else of her body, apart from what is reported that the Prophet ﷺ permitted her to display of her forearm up to the half. Since this is consensus among all, then it is established that she may display of her body what is not ʿawra — for what is not ʿawra may indeed be displayed — and this then falls under His exception إِلا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا .
His statement وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ (and they should draw their veils over their bosoms) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: they should draw their khumur — the plural of khimār (veil) — over their bosoms, so as to cover thereby their hair, their necks, and their earrings.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Zayd ibn Ḥubbāb related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Nāfiʿ, saying: al-Ḥasan ibn Muslim ibn Yannāq related to us, on the authority of Ṣafiyya bint Shayba, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha — she said: when this verse was revealed وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ , they tore their cloaks at the sides and veiled themselves with them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, that Qurrat ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed him, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ — that she said: may Allah have mercy on the early female Emigrants (Muhājirāt). When Allah revealed وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ they tore their thickest cloaks and veiled themselves with them.
His statement وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ (and they should not display their adornment except to their husbands) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: they should not display their non-visible adornment — that is the hidden adornment: the anklets, the earrings, the bracelets (damālij), and all that she is commanded to cover with her veil over the bosom, and what falls outside the area of what she is permitted to reveal in prayer and before unknown men, and the forearms up to past the half — except to their husbands.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiyah related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ up to عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ : the adornment which she displays to these persons is: her earrings, her necklace, and her bracelets. But her anklets, her upper-arm bands, her neck, and her hair — that she displays to no one other than her husband.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning وَلا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ : he said — the necklace and the earrings. Allah, exalted is His praise, says: Say to the free believing women: they should not display this hidden adornment except to their husbands (buʿūla; singular: baʿl), or to their fathers, or to the fathers of their husbands, or to their sons, or to the sons of their husbands, or to their brothers, or to the sons of their brothers, or to the sons of their sisters, or to their women. Concerning أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ it has been said: by it are meant the women of the Muslims.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — he said: it has reached me that by it are meant the women of the Muslims; it is not permissible for a Muslim woman that a polytheist woman see her naked body, unless she is her slave-girl (ama); and that is the case أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ . And he said: it has reached me that ʿUbāda ibn Nasī disapproved of a Christian woman kissing a Muslim woman or seeing her ʿawra, on the basis of أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ . And it has reached me that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb wrote to Abū ʿUbayda ibn al-Jarrāḥ: what has reached me is that women enter the bathhouses while among them are also women of the People of the Book (ahl al-Kitāb); forbid this and oppose it.
Concerning أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ the exegetes disagree: some said — or their male slaves (mamālik), for it is permissible for her to display this adornment to them.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār informed him, on the authority of Makhlad al-Tamīmī — that he said concerning أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ : in the first reading it stands "aymānikum" (your right hands).
Others said: what is meant is the slave-girls (imāʾ) of the polytheists who are in their possession — this in accordance with what we mentioned earlier from Ibn Jurayj: that أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ indicates the Muslim women but not the polytheists, and that upon this follows: or their polytheist slave-girls.
Allah, exalted is His praise, then says concerning أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ : those who follow you to partake of food with you, from among the men who have no desire for (and no need of) women.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الإرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ — he said: it was in former times that a man would follow another man over whom one was not jealous, and the woman saw no objection in removing her khimār before him — this is the half-witted (aḥmaq) one who has no desire for women.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiyah related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الإرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ — this is the man who follows a group; he is mentally deficient and does not concern himself with women and does not desire them. The adornment which she displays to these persons is her earrings, her necklace, and her bracelets; but her anklets, her upper-arm bands, her neck, and her hair she does not display except to her husband.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda — he said: they are the hangers-on who follow you and eat with you.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha — she said: there was a mukhannath (man of ambiguous gender) who used to enter upon the wives of the Prophet ﷺ and they regarded him as one who had no desire (ghayru ulī l-irba). One day the Prophet ﷺ entered upon him while he was with one of his wives, and he was describing a woman thus: "When she approaches from the front, she approaches with four, and when she turns away, she turns away with eight." The Prophet ﷺ said: "I see that this one knows what is here. Let him not enter upon you anymore." And so he was shut out.
Saʿd ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam al-Miṣrī related to me, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar al-ʿAdanī related to us, saying: al-Ḥakam ibn Abān related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima — he said concerning أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الإرْبَةِ : he is the mukhannath whose penis does not stand erect.
The Qurʾān reciters (qurrāʾ) differed over the reading of غَيْرِ أُولِي الإرْبَةِ : some of the people of al-Shām and of Medina and Kūfa read it in the accusative (ghayra). For the accusative there are two possible bases: one is as a ḥāl (circumstantial qualifier) upon "al-tābiʿīn" which is a definite noun, while "ghayru" is an indefinite noun; the other is as an exception, in which "ghayru" takes on the meaning of "illā" (except). The rest read it in the genitive (ghayri) as an attribute (naʿt) of "al-tābiʿīn"; and this is permissible because "al-tābiʿīn" is a definite noun that is not sharply delimited.
The strongest opinion, as far as we are concerned, is that the two readings are close to each other in meaning and both are widely spread in the cities; whoever chooses either of the two readings is correct. The genitive, however, is stronger in Arabic, and reading it thus is my preference.
His statement أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ (or the children who are not yet aware of the ʿawra of women) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: or the children who have not yet uncovered the ʿawra of women through intercourse with them, so that they do not know them on account of their young age.
Muḥammad related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — he said concerning عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ : they do not yet know that, because they are too young, before puberty.
His statement وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ (and they should not stamp with their feet so that their hidden adornment becomes known) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: they should not wear on their feet adornments which, when they walk or move their feet, let the people around them know what they conceal of adornment.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father — he said: a Ḥaḍramī reported that a woman took two silver rings (buratān) and wore beads (jazaʿ), and when she passed by a group of people she stamped with her foot, so that the anklet fell upon the beads and made a sound, whereupon Allah revealed وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ .
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiyah related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ — that is, that the one anklet is struck against the other in the presence of men; when she has anklets on her feet and moves them in the presence of men, Allah, the Exalted and Almighty, has forbidden this; for that is a work of the devil.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ — he said: those are the anklets; a woman may not stamp with her foot so that the sound of her anklet is heard.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning وَلا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ — he said: the bells of their adornments which they wear on the feet in the place of the anklets; Allah has forbidden them to stamp with their feet so that those bells would be heard.
His statement وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (and turn to Allah all together, O believers) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: turn, O believers, to obedience to Allah in what He commanded you and forbade you concerning the lowering of the gaze, the guarding of the private part, the not entering of others' houses without permission and greeting, and all the rest of His commands and prohibitions. لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (so that you may succeed) — so that you may succeed and attain your desires with Him, when you obey Him in what He commanded you and forbade you.
