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What is the ruling on looking at the faces of women who wear a legitimate hijab but violate the condition of "it not being an adornment in itself," and is that considered assisting in a forbidden act?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A man must lower his gaze from non-mahram women, based on the words of Allah Almighty: "Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do." Do not follow a gaze with another gaze, and turn your eyes away from a sudden glance. Your visiting female relatives should not be prevented by the possibility that they might be in a certain appearance, and there is no assistance to evil in that. If lowering your gaze from the faces of some female relatives becomes difficult for you, and there is no fear of temptation from them, and the looking is without lust, then some scholars have permitted it, based on the saying of Ibn Aqil: "It is not forbidden to look at the face of a non-mahram woman if temptation is assuredly absent." Lowering the gaze is one of the most beneficial things for guarding one's private parts and rectifying the heart.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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