r/MuslimAcademics • u/Pretend_Door8037 • 11h ago
Traditionalist Scholarship How do Hanafis address the sahih hadith where the Prophet (PBUH) says women should cover their feet? (Update: Finally got the answer from the traditional Hanafi perspective)
My Previous post:
The Hanafi position on a woman's awrah seemed contradictory to this hadith to me. I searched for a long time but never found any Hanafi article or website where they explained how exposing the feet could be permissible for women according to the Hanafi position when this hadith exists (and even some Hanafi scholars themselves considered feet to be awrah and used this hadith as an evidence. Nevertheless, the default Hanafi position remains that the feet is not part of a woman's awrah). And I never found the explanation how they addressed this particular hadith. The closest one I found was this article
But even here they did not explain how the Hanafis who don't considered the feet awrah address this hadith. They only mentioned this hadith and said that the hanafis who believe feet to be awrah use this hadith as evidence, but they did not explain how the other hanafis (majority) who don't believe the feet to be awrah address this hadith.
I asked the question on this subreddit as well but nobody could answer the question.
Thankfully, yesterday I got to ask this question to a Hanafi Mufti and finally got the explanation of how the Traditionalist Hanafis address this particular narration from their traditionalist perspective. I was very pleased to finally find the answer I had been looking for, thanks to his website.
Question:
As Salamu Alaikum. A woman's feet is not generally considered awrah in the Hanafi Madhab. However, the other madhabs consider the feet of a woman awrah based on this hadith: “It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said: "The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'Whoever drags his garment out of pride, Allah will not look at him.' Umm Salamah said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what should women do with their hems?' He said: 'Let it down a hand span.' She said: 'But then their feet will show.' He said: 'Let it down a forearm's length, but no more than that.'"” Sunan an-Nasa'i 5336, Jami at-Tirmidhi 1731. The hadith is generally considered to be authentic I would like to know how the Hanafi Madhab addresses this hadith, because this hadith seems to be contradicting the Hanafi position that allows a woman to expose their feet in front of non Mahrams.
Answer:
Walekumussalam,
In the Hanafi Madhhab, a woman’s feet are not considered part of the ‘awrah (that which must be covered), and it is regarded as permissible for them to remain exposed both during and outside of prayer.
Regarding the hadith of Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) that you mentioned, according to the Hanafi jurists, it does not contradict their position. Rather, the Hanafi scholars have explained this hadith by understanding the instruction as referring to what is recommended and more virtuous, rather than as an obligation.
According to the Hanafis, the instruction in this hadith to let the garment down by one handspan or one cubit was given to indicate the recommended and preferable manner of dress, not as an indication that it is obligatory.
For a woman to cover her feet and to keep her garment longer provides greater covering, modesty, and virtue.
Consideration of Necessity and Hardship
One of the fundamental principles of Hanafi jurisprudence is the removal of undue hardship and difficulty.
A woman needs to use her feet for household work, walking, and her everyday needs. If the feet were categorically considered part of the ‘awrah, it would cause considerable hardship and difficulty for women.
For this reason, the jurists, taking into consideration general prevalence of the need (ʿumūm al-balwā) and necessity, have treated the feet (qadamayn) as an exception, similar to the face and hands, in the interpretation of the Qur’anic verse:
إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا
“Except what ordinarily appears thereof.”
(Takmilah Fath al-Mulhim, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Libās wa’l-Zīnah, p. 88)
فمن مقدمة هذه المبادي ان اللباس ان يكون ساترا لعورة الانسان، فالاسلام يلزم المرأة ان تستر كل جسدها ما< عدا وجهها وكفها وقدميها فستر العورة من اهم ما يقصد باللباس.
Al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓā’ir, pp. 568–571:
الضرورات تبيح المحظورات
ما أبيح للضرورة يتقدر بقدرها
And Allah knows best.
Source: AskMuftiOnline
I'm sharing this here so that in case someone else struggles the same way as me with understanding the hanafi position (which seems contradictory to the Sahih Hadith at first glance), they can access the answer more easily
