Meaning of Hadith "Women will be Clothed yet Naked"
<QUESTION>
Respected Scholars in Islam! I have heard the following abridged hadith:
Imam Muslim (r) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (RA) said: The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There are
two types of the people of Hell whom I have not seen…” one
of whom was, “women who are clothed yet naked…”
According to Imam Ahmad (r) he said: “Curse them, for they are
cursed.”
Can you please narrate the whole hadith and explain its true meaning and interpretation.
<ANSWER>
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The Hadith in full is as follows:
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:
“There are two types of people who will enter the Hell-fire, whom
I have not (as yet) seen: People having whips similar to ox-tails with
which they will beat people, and (secondly) women who will be dressed
yet appear to be naked. They will seduce men and be inclined towards
them. Their heads will be like the swaying humps of bacterial camels.
They will neither enter paradise, nor smell its fragrance, even though
its fragrance can be smelt from such and such distance.” (Sahih
Muslim, no. 2128)
In this Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him
peace) describes two types of people who will enter the fire of Hell,
whom he had not seen. In other words, these two types of actions lead
one to punishment and Hell in the Hereafter. May Allah Almighty save us
all, Ameen.
The meaning of “women who will be dressed yet appear to be
naked” (as explained by Imam al-Nawawi and others) is that they
will be semi-nude. Part of their body will be covered whilst the other
will remain exposed. This is clearly manifested today; in that many
women wear short skirts and expose their arms, neck, hair, etc.
Imam al-Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) mentions some scholars stating
that the meaning is, women will wear see-through and transparent
clothing in a way that the colour of their body will be visible. This,
again, is quite common today, in that many women wear very thin
clothing, thus exposing their skin-colour.
A third interpretation, also recorded by Imam al-Nawawi (Allah have
mercy on him), is that they will be blessed in abundance with the
various gifts and bounties of Allah, yet they will not be grateful.
The meaning of “They will seduce men and be inclined towards
them” is that they will walk and act in order to seduce strange
men.
The meaning of “Their heads will be like the swaying humps of
bacterial camels” is that they will style their hair to certain
stylish hairdos, or style their hair like a hump. (See: Sharh of Nawawi
on Sahih Muslim, P. 1603)
In summary, the above Hadith is one of the marvels (mu’jizah) of
the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). Imam
al-Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
“This Hadith is from the miracles of prophet-hood (nubuwwah), for
these two types of people now exist. This Hadith also condemns these
two actions.” (ibid)
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) envisaged
the situation of certain individuals and their actions, thus informed
his companions (Allah be pleased with them) and us about them. Thus,
the moral of the Hadith is to abstain and refrain from these actions,
for they lead one to the fire of Hell.
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester , UK