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Fatwa CenterRuling on wearing women suits (jacket and pants)
Question
I am a girl living in Europe. When I get out, I wear decent and trendy clothes, like that in our Arab countries; a loose women suit consisting of a jacket and pants. I regularly perform the prayer and worship Allaah Almighty intensely. Also, I beautify myself when going out but without adding stark makeup. What is the Sharee'ah ruling?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
You should know that a woman's dress in Islam must cover the ‘Awrah (body parts that must be covered) and be neither tight nor transparent. Rather, it has to be wide, so that it does not reveal details of the body, and thick, so that the body can not be seen from behind. A woman is required to cover her entire body before non-Mahram (marriageable) men, in markets, as well as in places of study and work, when there is intermixing between the two sexes. If the jacket you wear is long enough to cover the lower part of the legs and is not opened at the chest and waist areas, and if the pants are long enough to cover the feet, then we hope that such a dress meets the minimum extent of the Sharee'ah-approved dress. However, if the jacket is too short to cover the lower of the legs, which necessitates that the shape of the lower part of the body appears in the pants, then it does not meet the conditions of the Sharee'ah-approved dress. You are required to wear a covering dress that befits the Muslim woman's peculiarity and chastity. When the non-Muslim and disobedient women are proud of their dissolution and nudity, your mission is to openly show modesty and chastity and display a good role model.
You know that living in these countries allows you neither to hold lawful what is unlawful nor to justify negligence about the commands of Allaah, the Exalted.
If you do not veil your face, then going out beautified is absolutely forbidden, even with mild makeup as you mentioned. But if you wear Niqaab and you move from your house to another in order to visit friends or relatives in a place where there are no non-Mahram men, then you are permitted to do.
Your question clearly indicates that safety lies in avoiding such communities as much as possible, so as a Muslim does not face hardship in implementing the commands of Allaah, the Exalted, and the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Allaah Knows best.
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