Tanbihat ala Ahkam takhtass bil-Muminat
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- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tanbihat ala Ahkam takhtass bil-Muminat (Directives on Rulings Pertaining Specifically to Believing Women) is a legal treatise authored by the Saudi jurist Salih al-Fawzan, outlining Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) rulings and ethical guidelines specific to women .
Purpose and Scope
Al-Fawzan authored the work to articulate Islamic legal obligations and recommendations tailored to women's daily religious practices and personal life . In his introduction, he highlights the elevated status Islam grants women, citing the Prophet's ﷺ recurring exhortations concerning their care, and states that he intended the treatise to clarify Sharia guidelines and protect women's religious identity and modesty amid modern cultural pressures .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction followed by ten thematic chapters :
- General Rulings (Ahkam Ammah): Reviews the historical condition of women before Islam, their elevated rights and standing under Islamic law, and the parameters governing women leaving the home .
- Physical Adornment (al-Tazayyun al-Jismi): Treats innate hygienic practices (khisal al-fitrah) such as trimming nails and removing body hair, along with rulings on hairstyles, hair extensions, dyeing, eyebrow plucking (nams), tattooing, and wearing gold and silver jewelry .
- Menstruation, Irregular Bleeding, and Postnatal Bleeding (al-Hayd, al-Istihadah, wa-l-Nifas): Discusses definitions, durations, prohibitions, methods of determining purity, prayers to be made up, the use of cycle-regulating medication, and miscarriage .
- Dress and the Hijab (al-Libas wa-l-Hijab): Outlines the requirements for lawful Muslim dress—stipulating that garments must fully cover the body, avoid transparency, and remain loose—and presents textual proofs for the veil .
- Prayer (al-Salah): Addresses the importance of prayer, exemptions from delivering the call to prayer (adhan) or opening summons (iqamah), requirements for bodily concealment during prayer, congregational prayer for women, and attendance at mosques and Eid prayers .
- Funerals (al-Janaiz): Covers washing and shrouding deceased women, following funeral processions, visiting graves, the prohibition of lamentation (niyahah), and the permissibility of unvoiced weeping .
- Fasting (al-Siyam): Treats the obligation of fasting upon reaching puberty, valid excuses for breaking the fast, making up missed fasts, and voluntary fasting in the presence of one's husband .
- Hajj and Umrah: Details the requirement of a male chaperone (mahram), husband's permission, proxy pilgrimage, managing menstruation during pilgrimage rites, garments prohibited in ihram, the talbiyah, and visiting the Prophet's Mosque in Medina .
- Matrimony and Dissolution (al-Zawjiyyah wa-Inhauha): Examines the marriage contract, obtaining consent from maidens and previously married women, the role of the matrimonial guardian (wali), mutual marital obligations, divorce, and the categories and rules of the post-marital waiting period (iddah) .
- Preserving Modesty and Dignity (Hifz al-Karamah wa-Sawn al-Iffah): Discusses lowering the gaze, abstaining from unlawful music, avoiding unchaperoned travel, prohibitions against unlawful seclusion (khalwah) and physical contact with unrelated men, concluding with practical counsel .
Reception and Publication
The book was published in Riyadh by Dar al-Sumay'i, with its second edition appearing in 1416 AH (1995–1996 CE) comprising 190 pages . Ahmad ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Hamdan commended the text in Dalil Maktabat al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah for employing direct address and presenting core legal rules without protracted scholastic disputes . The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Dawah and Guidance selected the treatise for mass distribution to female pilgrims performing Hajj and Umrah, and incorporated it into institutional translation programs into various languages .
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