—making her one of the mumīlāt, meaning she has tilted the part in her hair. Some scholars, however, hold that mumīlāt signifies women who allure others by the display of their finery, fragrance, and the like; in this sense they cause others to deviate. Most probably the term carries both connotations, for the juristic principle states that when a text can bear two meanings and nothing favors one over the other, both are retained—and here the two meanings do not conflict, so the word embraces them both.

As for the description māʾilāt, it denotes women who deviate from the truth and from the modesty and dignity required of them. You will find such a woman in the marketplace walking with the gait of a man—forcefully, resolutely—so much so that some men could not match her stride. She marches like a soldier, stamping the ground and showing no restraint. She also laughs aloud with her friend, raising her voice in a way that provokes temptation. Likewise, she lingers at a shop, haggling with the merchant, laughing with him; she may even extend her hand so he can fasten a wristwatch on it, and other such corrupt behaviors. These women are clearly māʾilāt, turning away from the right path—may Allah grant us safety.

Their heads are like the tilted humps of Bactrian camels. A Bactrian camel has a long hump that leans to the right or left, and she piles her hair so high that it inclines the same way, like those humps. Some scholars say that such a woman actually wraps a turban around her head—like a man’s—so that her covering rises and appears like the hump of a Bactrian camel. In any case, she adorns her head in a manner designed to enthrall onlookers.