3 Strong Hadith Why Women Wearing High Heels Is Halal
19/07/2019
Muslim women for thousands of years have been wanting to beautify themselves and wearing high heels is one way Muslim as well as non Muslim women wear for particularly reasons such as to look tall or for just as a style.
There are many ludicrous fatwas that have been given by some Muslims to prove that wearing high heels is haram for women. They believe that a woman who wears high heels will trip and fall thus exposing her awrah to
everyone. The answer to such arguments is in the following hadith,
1. Narrated by Ata bin Abi Rabah:
Ibn `Abbas said to me, "Shall I show you a woman of the people of
Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "This black lady came to the Prophet
(Sal) and said, 'I get attacks of epilepsy and my body becomes uncovered;
please invoke Allah for me.' The Prophet (Sal) said (to her), 'If you wish,
be patient and you will have (enter) Paradise; and if you wish, I will
invoke Allah to cure you.' She said, 'I will remain patient,' and added,
'but I become uncovered, so please invoke Allah for me that I may not
become uncovered.' So he invoked Allah for her."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
In this hadith the prophet (Sal) never rebuked the lady or told the lady
who suffered from epilepsy to not go out because her awrah will get exposed
due to her epileptic fits. Some try to bring in the fatwas of some of the
noble Salaf imams. When sheikh Ibn Baz (Rahi) was asked on what the ruling
was on wearing high heels he said,
The least regarding this affair is that it is kiraahah (i.e. it is disliked
in relation to the Islamic rulings) and this is because; firstly there is
deceit in it, as the woman appears taller than she really is. Secondly there
is a danger that she may fall, and finally her health may be jeopardized as
proven by the doctors.
(Majmoo’ fataawaa (6/397)
Sheikh bin baz was of the view that it is makrooh and he gave some reasons why it is so. The argument of sheikh bin Baz is that the woman who wears high heeled shoes will look taller hence being deceitful. We should understand that this statement of sheikh bin Baz is only his opinion because there is no such statement in the Quran or authentic hadith saying that it is prohibited to look taller. First of all,a person wears high heels for various reasons and no one can say for sure the real reason why a particular person is wearing it. In a hadith narrated by ibn Masud (Rali),
2. The Prophet(Sal) said,
“No one will enter Paradise who has an atom’s-weight of pride in his heart.” A man said, “What if a man likes his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?” He said, “Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people.”
(Sahih Muslim)
From the above hadith it is very clear loving to wear clothes or shoes that look good is not haram. The prophet (Sal) said,
"Actions are judged according to it's intentions"
(Bukhari)
You can watch my video below proving why wearing high heels is halal for women
In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, Prophet (Sal) told a story,
"There were three Israelites, a leper, a bald man, and a blind one. In order to test them, God sent an angel to them."
The angel came to the leper and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "A good complexion and good skin, and riddance of that for which people have considered me unclean."
Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his uncleanness disappeared from him, and he acquired a good complexion. Now the angel said, "And what would you like most to have?"
He said, "Camels."
So he was given a she-camel in her tenth month of pregnancy. He said, "God bless you for this."
Then the angel came to the bald man and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "Nice hair, and riddance of this condition for which people dislike me."
Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his baldness disappeared as he acquired a full head of hair.
Now the angel said to him, "And what would you like to have?"
He said, "Cattle."
So he was given a pregnant cow. And he said, "God bless you for this."
Then the angel came to the blind man and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "That God may restore my vision so I might see people."
So the angel passed his hand over him and God restored his eyesight.
Now the angel said, "And what would you like to have?"
He said, "Sheep."
So he was given a pregnant ewe.
The former two animals gave birth, and so did this latter one; eventually one of the men had a valley full of camels, one had a valley full of cattle, and one had a valley full of sheep.
Then the angel came to the leper in disguise and said, "I am a poor man, at the end of my rope on my journey, without recourse this day except to God and to you. I ask you-by the One who gave you a good complexion, good skin, and wealth-for a camel whereby I may make it to the end of my journey."
But the man said, "I have many obligations."
Then the angel said, "I seem to know you. Weren't you a leper, shunned by society as unclean, impoverished? And did not God give to you?"
He said, "I simply inherited this wealth, grown generation after generation."
The angel said, "You are a liar. May God make you as you were."
Then the angel came to the formerly bald man in disguise and spoke to him as he had the former leper. And the formerly bald man replied as had the former leper. So the angel said, "You are a liar. May God make you as you were." Then the angel also came to the formerly blind man and said, "I am a poor man, on the road, at the end of my rope on my journey, with no resort this day but to God and to you. I ask you-by the One who restored your vision-for a sheep to tide me over on my way."
The man said, "I used to be blind, but God restored my eyesight. Take whatever you want, and leave what you will.
For by God I will give you no trouble about anything you take today for the sake of God."
The angel said, "Keep what you have; for you were only being tested. God is pleased with you, and displeased with the other two."
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
In this long hadith we have a very important lesson to understand and that is when the angel asked the bald man what he liked he said,
"Nice hair, and riddance of this condition for which people dislike me." and the leper said "A good complexion and good skin, and riddance of that for which people have considered me unclean."
This proves that we as human beings like to be in our best of form in front of other people and a bald person will always want to cover his baldness with a wig or with some other means and a person who has bad skin or complexion will also want to look handsome or pretty with good complexion. Similarly a person who is short in strature will also want to look taller by any means. Having such intentions is not at all haram. Sheikh Nasiruddin Albani was a scholar who had a different view than of bin Baz on women wearing high heels. He regarded this practice as forbidden. He said,
This is not permissible. It involves resembling the
disbelieving women, or the wicked women. It has its origins amongst the
Jewish women before Islam. When one of them wanted to attend a gathering
where her lover was present, she would wear a pair of high shoes for him to
see her, being taller. Then after a time, those became high-heeled shoes. Further,
that type of shoe changes a woman’s way of walking, causing her to tilt
from left to right, and therefore, the wicked and unbelievers choose this
type of shoe. Therefore, a Muslim woman following the *Sharee’ah* (Islaamic
Law) should not wear high-heeled shoes; especially since many times it
causes her to fall!
(Al-Asaalah (Issue #6) [E-Book: Fataawaa of Shaikh Al-Albaanee)
The tilting argument mentioned by sheikh Albani is only his opinion. Naturally, women do have a curved pelvis and whether you wear heels or not it will definitely tilt. If tilting was forbidden, the prophet (Sal) would have forbidden it. You cannot specifically say that all women who wear heels are doing so to tilt and seduce men and therefore there is no explicit evidence from the Quran or authentic Sunnah to prove that high heels is haram. You cannot blindly accept the opinions of sheikh bin Baz or sheikh Albani and it is very clear that wearing high heels is not clearly forbidden in Islam and whatever the scholars are saying are only their personal opinions based on implications and not direct evidence. The arguments of sheikh Albani and others is based on the below hadith.
3. Abd Sa'id Khudri (Rali) narrated that prophet (Sal) said,
"There was a woman from Bani Isra'il who was short-statured and she walked in the company of two tall women with wooden sandals in her feet and a ring of gold made of plates with musk filled in them and then looked up, and musk is the best of scents; then she walked between two women and they (the people) did not recognise her, and she made a gesture with her hand like this, and Shu'ba shook his hand in order to give an indication how she shook her hand."
(Sahih Muslim)
The above hadith does not indicate anything of the Prophet (Sal) forbidding wearing high heels. Rather, he mentioned this because the woman who was short statured wanted to be taller like the other women. If the prophet (Sal) had forbidden such a practice then he would have clearly forbidden it in this hadith. This hadith is taken out of context to suite ones personal opinion and this hadith cannot prove anything about high heels being forbidden. It should be noted that in this hadith the bani Isreal woman also wore a gold ring and musk which both are halal for Muslim women.
The next argument that some try to prove that high heels is haram is by pinpointing about the bad health effects it carries. In a research published by BMV health (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537921/)
Says that
"evidence which says that wearing high heels is detrimental remains fragmented and no review has covered both the epidemiological and biomechanical literature."
This same research says that women who wear high heels have psychosexual benefits and impacts on a more positive behaviour of a woman. Although there are some research suggesting about the ill effects of wearing high heels, you can still wear them in a more healthy manner because even wearing trousers could effect health if worn wrongly and similarly you an wear high heels in a manner that does not effect your overall health. The other argument that wearing high heels is copying the disbelieving women is an elementary argument because women wear high heels for so many reasons and giving a blanket fatwa forbidding women from wearing high heels is totally wrong. We must accept an argument or a fatwa if there is clear evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. Learning Islam properly with well grounded sources will definitely help a Muslim know the difference between an opinion or evidence.
"There were three Israelites, a leper, a bald man, and a blind one. In order to test them, God sent an angel to them."
The angel came to the leper and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "A good complexion and good skin, and riddance of that for which people have considered me unclean."
Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his uncleanness disappeared from him, and he acquired a good complexion. Now the angel said, "And what would you like most to have?"
He said, "Camels."
So he was given a she-camel in her tenth month of pregnancy. He said, "God bless you for this."
Then the angel came to the bald man and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "Nice hair, and riddance of this condition for which people dislike me."
Then the angel passed his hand over him, and his baldness disappeared as he acquired a full head of hair.
Now the angel said to him, "And what would you like to have?"
He said, "Cattle."
So he was given a pregnant cow. And he said, "God bless you for this."
Then the angel came to the blind man and said, "What would you like most?"
He said, "That God may restore my vision so I might see people."
So the angel passed his hand over him and God restored his eyesight.
Now the angel said, "And what would you like to have?"
He said, "Sheep."
So he was given a pregnant ewe.
The former two animals gave birth, and so did this latter one; eventually one of the men had a valley full of camels, one had a valley full of cattle, and one had a valley full of sheep.
Then the angel came to the leper in disguise and said, "I am a poor man, at the end of my rope on my journey, without recourse this day except to God and to you. I ask you-by the One who gave you a good complexion, good skin, and wealth-for a camel whereby I may make it to the end of my journey."
But the man said, "I have many obligations."
Then the angel said, "I seem to know you. Weren't you a leper, shunned by society as unclean, impoverished? And did not God give to you?"
He said, "I simply inherited this wealth, grown generation after generation."
The angel said, "You are a liar. May God make you as you were."
Then the angel came to the formerly bald man in disguise and spoke to him as he had the former leper. And the formerly bald man replied as had the former leper. So the angel said, "You are a liar. May God make you as you were." Then the angel also came to the formerly blind man and said, "I am a poor man, on the road, at the end of my rope on my journey, with no resort this day but to God and to you. I ask you-by the One who restored your vision-for a sheep to tide me over on my way."
The man said, "I used to be blind, but God restored my eyesight. Take whatever you want, and leave what you will.
For by God I will give you no trouble about anything you take today for the sake of God."
The angel said, "Keep what you have; for you were only being tested. God is pleased with you, and displeased with the other two."
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
In this long hadith we have a very important lesson to understand and that is when the angel asked the bald man what he liked he said,
"Nice hair, and riddance of this condition for which people dislike me." and the leper said "A good complexion and good skin, and riddance of that for which people have considered me unclean."
This proves that we as human beings like to be in our best of form in front of other people and a bald person will always want to cover his baldness with a wig or with some other means and a person who has bad skin or complexion will also want to look handsome or pretty with good complexion. Similarly a person who is short in strature will also want to look taller by any means. Having such intentions is not at all haram. Sheikh Nasiruddin Albani was a scholar who had a different view than of bin Baz on women wearing high heels. He regarded this practice as forbidden. He said,
This is not permissible. It involves resembling the
disbelieving women, or the wicked women. It has its origins amongst the
Jewish women before Islam. When one of them wanted to attend a gathering
where her lover was present, she would wear a pair of high shoes for him to
see her, being taller. Then after a time, those became high-heeled shoes. Further,
that type of shoe changes a woman’s way of walking, causing her to tilt
from left to right, and therefore, the wicked and unbelievers choose this
type of shoe. Therefore, a Muslim woman following the *Sharee’ah* (Islaamic
Law) should not wear high-heeled shoes; especially since many times it
causes her to fall!
(Al-Asaalah (Issue #6) [E-Book: Fataawaa of Shaikh Al-Albaanee)
The tilting argument mentioned by sheikh Albani is only his opinion. Naturally, women do have a curved pelvis and whether you wear heels or not it will definitely tilt. If tilting was forbidden, the prophet (Sal) would have forbidden it. You cannot specifically say that all women who wear heels are doing so to tilt and seduce men and therefore there is no explicit evidence from the Quran or authentic Sunnah to prove that high heels is haram. You cannot blindly accept the opinions of sheikh bin Baz or sheikh Albani and it is very clear that wearing high heels is not clearly forbidden in Islam and whatever the scholars are saying are only their personal opinions based on implications and not direct evidence. The arguments of sheikh Albani and others is based on the below hadith.
3. Abd Sa'id Khudri (Rali) narrated that prophet (Sal) said,
"There was a woman from Bani Isra'il who was short-statured and she walked in the company of two tall women with wooden sandals in her feet and a ring of gold made of plates with musk filled in them and then looked up, and musk is the best of scents; then she walked between two women and they (the people) did not recognise her, and she made a gesture with her hand like this, and Shu'ba shook his hand in order to give an indication how she shook her hand."
(Sahih Muslim)
The above hadith does not indicate anything of the Prophet (Sal) forbidding wearing high heels. Rather, he mentioned this because the woman who was short statured wanted to be taller like the other women. If the prophet (Sal) had forbidden such a practice then he would have clearly forbidden it in this hadith. This hadith is taken out of context to suite ones personal opinion and this hadith cannot prove anything about high heels being forbidden. It should be noted that in this hadith the bani Isreal woman also wore a gold ring and musk which both are halal for Muslim women.
The next argument that some try to prove that high heels is haram is by pinpointing about the bad health effects it carries. In a research published by BMV health (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537921/)
Says that
"evidence which says that wearing high heels is detrimental remains fragmented and no review has covered both the epidemiological and biomechanical literature."
This same research says that women who wear high heels have psychosexual benefits and impacts on a more positive behaviour of a woman. Although there are some research suggesting about the ill effects of wearing high heels, you can still wear them in a more healthy manner because even wearing trousers could effect health if worn wrongly and similarly you an wear high heels in a manner that does not effect your overall health. The other argument that wearing high heels is copying the disbelieving women is an elementary argument because women wear high heels for so many reasons and giving a blanket fatwa forbidding women from wearing high heels is totally wrong. We must accept an argument or a fatwa if there is clear evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. Learning Islam properly with well grounded sources will definitely help a Muslim know the difference between an opinion or evidence.