Question
In one of his talks, Mufti Rashid Ahmad Ludhyanwi (Rahmatullah alayh) vehemently decried the convention of girls removing their niqaab before suitors. He insisted that this was both haraam and shameful. The proper way of doing things was to get one's womenfolk to visit the girl on some pretext and to ascertain her appearance, or the suitor should contrive some situation wherein he'll be able to cast a glance at the girl without her being aware of it. Is this correct?
Answer
The venerable Mufti Ludhyanwi (Rahmatullah alayh) had erred in his opinion. Far from it being haraam and shameful, viewing with the intention of marriage is not even Makrooh Tanzihi. It is permissible. In fact, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had instructed the Sahaabah to view the girl before marriage.
This is a well-known Mas'alah clearly explained by the Fuqaha. The Kutub of Hadith and Fiqh state the permissibility with clarity. All Ulama regardless of their lofty ranks do err, and sometimes the error pertains to simple issues.
- Source
- themajlis.co.za
- Published in
- The Majlis Vol 27 No 06
- PDF page
- 21
Appears under VOTING THE DIFFERENT VIEWS (approximate).