Is Showing Off One’s Beauty (Tabarruj) a Major or Minor Sin?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

Is tabarruj considered a major or minor sin? I do not engage in it, but I struggle with severe waswasa and find it hard to seek forgiveness when unsure about the level of sin.

Answer

Thank you for your question. Tabarruj means to show one’s beauty, and it is a sin in Islam, according to the unanimous consensus.

It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud that the Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) disliked ten things:

Yellow dye, meaning Khaluq, changing gray hair, dragging one’s Izar (garment wrapped around the lower body), wearing gold rings, playing with dice (Ki‘ab), (a woman) showing her adornment to people to whom it is not permissible for her to show it (tabarruj), reciting Ruqya unless it is with the Mu‘awwidhat (verses seeking refuge with Allah), hanging amulets, removing to ejaculate in other than the right place, and taking away the milk of an infant boy (by having intercourse with his mother)- but he did not say that this is Haram.

Imam Dhahabi and others have mentioned that showing off one’s beauty to non-mahram men is a major sin. One should seek to repent to Allah Most High with sincere regret and cease the behaviour. Allah has not created a woman to show off her beauty to the eye of any passerby; rather, it should be specially guarded for the people who love her – her family. You don’t need to worry about baseless misgivings if you don’t engage in it.

Please see more details here: Reader on Modesty in Islam

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied ‘aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.