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Have any scholars considered revealing adornment (tabarruj) a minor sin, and why did Imam Al-Dhahabi not mention it in his book "Al-Kaba'ir" (Major Sins), and are there any jurisprudential disagreements regarding this issue?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Adornment (al-tabarruj) is a woman displaying her beauty and allure before non-mahram men. This includes uncovering her hair, applying makeup, or wearing transparent clothes. Allah has commanded believing women to observe hijab and refrain from displaying their adornment before non-mahram men. He has forbidden the adornment of the first period of ignorance (jahiliyyah al-ula), commanded them to draw their cloaks close, and prohibited them from displaying their adornment except to their mahrams.

Severe warnings have been issued against women who adorn themselves in the prophetic Sunnah. They are described as "clothed yet naked, inclining and causing to incline, their heads like the humps of swaying camels; they will not enter Paradise nor smell its fragrance." They are also cursed and described as the worst of women and hypocrites.

"Clothed yet naked" means they wear clothes that do not conceal their awrah, either because they are transparent or tight and describe the body. "Inclining and causing to incline" means they deviate from obedience and cause others to incline to their blameworthy actions, or they comb their hair in a swaying manner like prostitutes.

Al-tabarruj is a major sin (kabirah) due to the warnings of hellfire and curses associated with it. Many scholars have explicitly stated this, and the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fatwas has affirmed that al-tabarruj is a major sin.

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

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