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Are the "leaning women" mentioned in the Hadith meant to be those who gather their hair and place it to one side?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The scholars have four interpretations regarding the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "inclined [away from righteousness] and inclining [others]": 1. Inclined away from chastity and uprightness, and inclining others towards evil. 2. Inclined in their walk, swaying their shoulders. 3. Inclined towards men, and inclining men towards them with their adornments. 4. Or they comb their hair with a side parting, which is a شعار (distinguishing mark) of prostitutes.

Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) held the view that the correct interpretation is that "inclined [away from righteousness]" refers to those who have deviated from modesty and religion, and "inclining [others]" refers to those who cause others to deviate from it. Some scholars have prohibited parting the hair from the side due to imitation of disbelieving women. However, if its exclusivity to disbelieving women ceases and it becomes widespread among Muslim women, then the prohibition is lifted due to the removal of the reason for imitation.

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

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