What is the ruling on the customs of some people who blame a father for embracing his adult daughter, or who forbid a girl from combing her hair in front of her father, on the grounds of the necessity of modesty and shyness even in front of one's father, and are there any Shar'i (Islamic legal) proofs or stories from the Prophet's Sunnah that confirm the permissibility of these actions?

Modesty is from faith, but it is Islamically permissible for a woman to uncover her head in front of her father and for him to embrace her, as long as there is no suspicion or fear of temptation. This is prohibited if suspicion or temptation exists, as a pre-emptive measure. Allah has permitted the display of adornment to maharim (unmarriageable kin), as He states: "And not display their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers." (24:31). Furthermore, the Sunnah (definition) contains evidence for the permissibility of kissing and embracing maharim. Scholars have stipulated the permissibility of touching what is permissible to look at among maharim, and the prohibition of looking at what is permissible to look at if it is with lust. Consequently, touching would be prohibited even more so.