The orders about selling ladies fashionable clothes - How it is to do business of ladies’
clothes when these clothes often include short shirts and tight trousers and other fashionable
items. Is it okay for us to sell these types of clothes, or no? -Waqas from Faisalabad
Answer: It is permissible. Even if they are short, incomplete or fashionable it is permissible
to sell them. Some people may have doubts about it that for women wearing sleeveless,
skirts or tight clothes is haram so whoever sells these types of clothes will be like
he is aiding in this haram act and Quran says that [Arabic] “don’t aid with each other
in acts of sin”. So, some people may have doubts to which the answer is the seller is
basically working to hide women’s body, even if it is incomplete. For example,if a
woman wears sleeveless, the seller would not be accountable for revealing woman’s body
instead he is accountable for supplying the cloth she has on her body. Now it’s the
woman’s fault that why is she not wearing extra clothing to cover her body fully. Another
example would be like a person is selling underwear, now if a dude roams around in a
market wearing underwear only, it is not the fault of the person who sold the underwear
to him. The seller did not stop you from wearing clothes over it. It is possible to get sleeves
attached to the sleeveless top, it is possible to wear an abaya over tight clothes to hide
the body from being exposed. So according to Shariah it is permissible. If someone is
earning from selling women’s clothes, his income is not haram. Although, it would be
better to sell clothes that are according to Islamic values. But it would not be considered
forbidden. However, it is haram and forbidden for women to wear tight clothes. Like nowadays
women wear those tights and then openly go in front ofnaMehrams. This is completely haram
and forbidden. These types of clothing are not okay to wear in homes either. Wearing
clothes that expose your body in front of your brothers is against modesty and shame.
Women will be sinners anyway as Prophet (PBUH) said [Arabic] “there are 2 groups that I
have not seen and these groups will be under such severe punishment that they will not
even smell the fragrance of heaven” [Arabic] “even though the fragrance of heaven will
be felt from a faraway. 1st the cruel rulers who oppress their nation and 2nd those women”
[Arabic] “who will be naked even when they wear clothes” meaning that they will wear
such tight and light clothes that their skin will be showing, people will say they are
wearing clothes but in reality, they are not. He further said “and their hair will be
like the hump of camels” meaning that their hair will be on the top of their head in the
name of fashion. So that is haram for women. Even putting on strong enough fragrance that
when they pass a group of namehrams their fragrance could be smelled. Our Shariah has
really cared and suggested the pardah of women. The fatwa that states that income earned by
selling women’s fashionable clothes is halal, women may take it as wearing these clothes
or wearing fashionable clothes is okay but clothes that are so thin that they show skin,
or like wearing tights that may expose women’s body is forbidden so don’t take this fatwa
the wrong way. If a woman buys tights, then it is a must that she wears something else
over it so the body doesn’t become prominent.