At a glance
- Region
- Global / Diaspora
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
DressEthics and characterFamily, marriage and kinship
Summary
Definition
Zinah is the name for all that one adorns oneself with; in the verse it is what shows, the garments and the face's adornment. Tahassun, tajammul, tahliya and tazayyun are close terms; tahliya is putting on jewellery. 1
Ruling
The rule is recommendation, on the verse "say: who forbade the adornment God brought forth for His servants", and the hadith that God is beautiful and loves beauty. It should not be meant for pride, which is forbidden. 2 Among the obligatory forms are covering the nakedness and a wife adorning herself for her husband when he asks; recommended are adornment for Friday and the festivals and dyeing grey hair; disliked for men is wearing saffron or crocus-dyed cloth; forbidden is imitating the other sex in dress and manner. 3
Gold and silk
Men may not wear silk or gold, on the hadiths that they are forbidden to the males of my community, and that whoever wears silk in this world will not wear it in the next. Women may wear gold, silver and silk. 4 Imitation of the other sex in movement, speech, dress and adornment is forbidden, on the hadith cursing the men who imitate women and the women who imitate men. 4 9 Adorning oneself for Friday, festivals and meeting people is recommended; Aisha reports that the Prophet ﷺ would put his hair and beard in order when he went out to his brethren. 9
Adornment in prayer, ihram and seclusion
It is recommended to adorn oneself for prayer with humility before God; the best is to pray in two garments or more, and one garment is enough if nothing else is had. In ihram a woman may wear what colours and jewellery she likes, but men may not wear stitched clothing, and perfuming, shaving and trimming are forbidden in ihram. In seclusion the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is allow scent and fine garments. 10 11
Adornment between spouses
The widow and bodily alterations
A widow in her waiting period may not adorn herself by agreement; a woman divorced irrevocably is so forbidden by the Hanafis and recommended to mourn by the Malikis; a woman divorced revocably may adorn herself. 6 Piercing a young girl's ear for an earring is allowed by most jurists. Tattooing and plucking the face are forbidden as alterations of God's creation, on the hadith cursing the tattooers and the pluckers. A woman must remove hair on her face that resembles a man's beard. 6 7 12
Decoration of houses, mosques and tombs
Sale, hire and loan of adornments
A wife's adornments such as scent, henna and kohl may be sold, and the Malikis oblige the husband to supply them if she is harmed without them. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow hiring garments and jewellery for adornment; the Hanafis forbid it and the Malikis dislike it. Lending what can be used lawfully is allowed. 13
People and things also explored
Joy and gladness (al-farah wal-surur)· Hardship and fear of sin ('anat) in marrying a slave-woman· Shahwa (desire: its effect on touch and ablution, on fasting and pilgrimage, on looking, on marriage by touch and on the breaking of the marriage bond)· Shakk (doubt in law: its kinds, the rule that certainty is not removed by doubt, and its effect on worship, contracts, penalties and evidence)· Ghadd al-basar (lowering the gaze)· Hadiyya (gift)· Hajr (abandonment and shunning: its rules for a believer, a sinner, an innovator and a wife)· Hiba (gift: its pillars, the parties, the thing given, possession, return and conditions)
Sources
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5035
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5036
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5037
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5038
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5042
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5043
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5044
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5046
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5039
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5040
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5041
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5045
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.5047
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Tazayyun (adornment, and its rules)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/tazayyun-adornment/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.