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Fatwa CenterConditions to be met when a woman wears pants
Question
As-Salamu ‘alaykum. I am a university female student and I wear Hijaab, all praise is due to Allaah for this. A sister advised me not to wear pants so as to perfect my religiousness. I obeyed her, but now I feel uncomfortable, sometimes, with skirts and blouses, and I feel that pants are more comfortable and more covering, especially when we go to labs. Does Islam forbid pants entirely? Is it permissible to wear them when necessary? May Allaah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
It is permissible for a woman to wear pants when certain conditions are met:
First: It must be worn under loose covering clothes.
Second: It must not resemble men's trousers.
Third: It must not be worn for imitating non-Muslims.
If these conditions are met, it is permissible for the Muslim woman to wear pants, whether inside or outside her home. If these conditions are not met, however, it is impermissible for women to wear pants.
This is perhaps what was meant by the Muslim sister who advised you not to wear pants.
But you should know that it is conditioned for the woman's dress, in general, to be covering, non-transparent, loose-fitting, and resembling neither men's dress nor that of the prostitutes and non-Muslims. In addition to the aforementioned conditions, it is essential for the dress she wears when going out not to be intended for fame nor be an adornment in itself nor be scented or perfumed.
The purified Sharee'ah of Allaah lays these conditions for the dress of the Muslim woman in order to safeguard her and maintain her honor from criminals and aggressors.
A Muslim woman, on the other hand, is required to accept the Sharee'ah of Allaah and know for sure that all goodness lies in submission and obedience to His Commands. Contrary to this, all evil lies in contradicting and escaping the Sharee'ah of Allaah.
You may feel unfamiliarity, discomfort or inflexibility with your new dress; but by the course of time all such feelings will certainly vanish. Also, when you have the feeling that you leave such a matter out of obedience to Allaah and in compliance to His commands, this will strengthen your determination and make you more powerful to stop what you used to. This is indeed known by experiment. We ask Allaah to grant you success and steadfastness on the straight path.
Allaah Knows best.
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