As for the length of a woman’s dress that she would let down, a woman once asked the Prophet ﷺ about it and he said, “A handspan.” They replied, “But then their shins will show!” He answered, “A cubit—no more than that.” 1

ʿUmar ibn Abī Rabīʿah likewise said:
“Fighting and warfare have been ordained for us,
while for the graceful ladies it is to trail their robes.” 2

This applies when they go out of their houses. For that reason the Prophet ﷺ was asked about a woman whose hem drags over a filthy place, and he said, “What follows it will cleanse it.” 3 Inside the house, however, she did not wear such a trailing garment, just as women later adopted leather socks to cover the shin when they went out, while they would not wear them indoors. Hence their objection, “Then their shins will show,” for the aim was to cover the shin: when the hem is above the ankles, the shin becomes visible while walking.

It has also been reported: “Leave women without outer wraps and they will remain behind the curtains,” 4 meaning that if she has nothing proper to wear outside, she will stay at home.