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Fatwa CenterRuling on the father embracing his daughter and seeing her head uncovered
Question
It is the habit of some people to blame the father when he embraces his grown up daughter under the pretext that she should be bashful in front of him because he is a man. What is the Sharee‘ah ruling on this? Would you please provide us with similar incidents from the life of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as well as the Companions, May Allaah Be Pleased with them, to prove that such a matter is blameless?
Also, some tribes blame the daughter when she combs her hair before her father, as this features disrespect and exposure of adornment before him. They argue that this is not good because the girl has to be bashful in front of her father. I would like to refute their claims but I am not acquainted with the Sharee‘ah proofs.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The importance of bashfulness is not controversial because it is part of faith, as indicated by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Nonetheless, it is permissible under Sharee‘ah for the woman to uncover her head before her father and embrace him as long as there is neither suspicion nor temptation. Whereas, this is strictly forbidden when there is any suspicion or expected temptation to eliminate means that could lead to unfavorable results. The woman is permitted under Sharee‘ah to reveal the places of adornment before her Mahram men and husband. Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {And not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons,…} [Quran 24: 31]
It was narrated that Abu Bakr kissed ‘Aa’ishah 
on her cheek. [Abu Daawood; Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
Ibn ‘Abbaas 
narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, picked up his dying daughter and then embraced her and held her to his breast and she died in this position. [Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and At-Tirmithi; Shu‘ayb Al-Arnaa’oot: Hasan; Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
Scholars stated that it is permissible to touch the parts of the body of one's Mahram women at which he is permitted to look. They also stated that it is prohibited to lustfully look at these parts. In such a case, when looking is prohibited, then touching is worthier of being prohibited.
Allaah Knows best.
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