What is the ruling on a woman going to the hammam (public bathhouse)?

Baths are houses built for washing and healing. It is not permissible for women to enter them except for an excuse such as menstruation, postnatal bleeding, ritual impurity (janabah), illness, or the need for a bath due to fear of illness if she were to bathe in her home. This is based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Lands of the non-Arabs will be opened for you, and you will find in them houses called baths. Men should not enter them except with loincloths, and prevent women from entering them unless she is sick or in postnatal bleeding." For a woman who enters without an excuse, it is considered disliked for her to do so, and some Hanbalis have deemed it forbidden.

She must cover her nakedness (awrah) in the bath. She is permitted to uncover what is not considered awrah in relation to other Muslim women, which is everything except what is between the navel and the knee. However, some jurists hold the view that the entire body must be covered.

As for a dhimmi woman, it is not permissible for her to look at any part of a Muslim woman's body except for the face and hands. Therefore, the Shafi'is prohibited dhimmi women from entering baths with Muslim women, based on what was narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him).