Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question:
What is the ruling on liking, sharing, posting videos or photos that are positive, entertaining, Islamic, brings awareness, but the original poster, portrayed and exposed their awrah (nakedness) regardless of man and woman, Muslim and non-Muslim.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. You bring up a very important point. Although uncovered women are all over the internet, Muslims should not normalize it to the point that we assume there is absolutely nothing wrong with men looking at them.
Looking at the opposite gender
Allah Most High clarifies for us in the Qur’an what he expects of us, “˹O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers, so that you may be successful. “[Qur’an, 24. 30-31]
The ruling in the Shafi’i school is: “It is unlawful for a man to look at a woman
who is not his wife or one of his unmarriageable kin (def: m6.1) (0: there being no difference in this between the face and hands or some other part of a woman (N: if it is uncovered), though part excludes her voice, which is not unlawful to listen to as long as temptation is unlikely. “[The Reliance of the Traveller, m2.3]
Videos
Uncovered women appear in all kinds of videos; you may find them barely noticeable in the background or as the main speakers or main subject of a video. Posting a video like the latter is potentially sinful, and one should always remember that for every impermissible option out there, Allah has given us sufficiency in a permissible option. Your scrupulousness and care will not go unnoticed, nor unrewarded. May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
See this excellent answer about scrupulousness:
https://islamqa.org/hanafi/qibla-hanafi/36188/is-there-a-hadith-that-%C2%93be-scrupulous-and-you%C2%92ll-be-the-most-worshipful-of-people%C2%94-what-does/
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.