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Is it permissible for a woman to adorn herself with cosmetics (very light makeup) when the suitor sees her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A woman is not permitted to display her adornment except to those mentioned by Allah in verse 31 of Surah An-Nur. The suitor is not among them. Rather, he is only permitted to look for the purpose of proposing, and it is not permissible for the woman to adorn herself for him. Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen permitted the suitor to see his fiancée under certain conditions: the need to see her, the intention to propose, the absence of khalwa (private seclusion, meaning a mahram must be present), and a strong probability of mutual acceptance. Some scholars stipulated that there should be no arousal of desire and that the sole intention should be to gather information. The woman must appear in her usual state without beautification or adornment, because she is not yet a wife, and to avoid any deception or misguidance of the suitor.

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

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