Meaning of Hadith “Women will be Clothed yet Naked”

The Hadith in full is as follows:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “There are two types of people who will enter the Hell-fire, whom I have not (as yet) seen: People having whips similar to ox-tails with which they will beat people, and (secondly) women who will be dressed yet appear to be naked. They will seduce men and be inclined towards them. Their heads will be like the swaying humps of bacterial camels. They will neither enter paradise, nor smell its fragrance, even though its fragrance can be smelt from such and such distance.” (Sahih Muslim, no. 2128)

In this Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) describes two types of people who will enter the fire of Hell, whom he had not seen. In other words, these two types of actions lead one to punishment and Hell in the Hereafter. May Allah Almighty save us all, Ameen.

The meaning of “women who will be dressed yet appear to be naked” (as explained by Imam al-Nawawi and others) is that they will be semi-nude. Part of their body will be covered whilst the other will remain exposed. This is clearly manifested today; in that many women wear short skirts and expose their arms, neck, hair, etc.

Imam al-Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) mentions some scholars stating that the meaning is, women will wear see-through and transparent clothing in a way that the colour of their body will be visible. This, again, is quite common today, in that many women wear very thin clothing, thus exposing their skin-colour.

A third interpretation, also recorded by Imam al-Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him), is that they will be blessed in abundance with the various gifts and bounties of Allah, yet they will not be grateful.

The meaning of “They will seduce men and be inclined towards them” is that they will walk and act in order to seduce strange men.

The meaning of “Their heads will be like the swaying humps of bacterial camels” is that they will style their hair to certain stylish hairdos, or style their hair like a hump. (See: Sharh of Nawawi on Sahih Muslim, P. 1603)

In summary, the above Hadith is one of the marvels (mu’jizah) of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). Imam al-Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) states:

“This Hadith is from the miracles of prophet-hood (nubuwwah), for these two types of people now exist. This Hadith also condemns these two actions.” (ibid)

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) envisaged the situation of certain individuals and their actions, thus informed his companions (Allah be pleased with them) and us about them. Thus, the moral of the Hadith is to abstain and refrain from these actions, for they lead one to the fire of Hell.

And Allah knows best