and they must be complete. Hence the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When I command you to do something, do as much of it as you are able; and when I forbid you from something, then avoid it.” (1)

Accordingly, a woman who is partially emancipated is like a wholly enslaved woman. …

His statement, “from the navel to the knee”: what is well known is that when the beginning of a limit is mentioned, it is included, whereas its end is not. For example, one might say: “You are granted the land from here to here.” Thus, according to the apparent wording of the author, the navel is included in the private parts, because it marks the beginning of the limit and must therefore be covered, while the knee is not included.

There are several views on this issue: (2)

The first is that the knee is included among the private parts and must therefore be covered.

The second view is that both the navel and the knee are part of the private parts and must be covered.

The third view—and it is the well-known position of the madhhab—is that neither the navel nor the knee is included, and so neither must be covered. Accordingly, the wording that excludes both would be: “what lies between the navel and the knee.”

“Every part of a free woman is private, except her face.” …

His statement, “Every part of a free woman is private except her face,” means that her entire body must be covered except for her face. There is no clear evidence on this issue. For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, held that a free woman’s private parts are everything except what ordinarily appears of her while in her home: her face, hands, and feet. He said: During the time of the Messenger ﷺ, women would wear, in their homes,