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women and islamic law 3273. Headscarf:Women and men are not required to cover their head. If theydo so they are merely following the local conventions of theirplace of origin.Finally, as the best counterargument against all those traditionalistswho claim that women will never enter Paradise, we quote the followingtwo verses:Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily,to him will We give a new life, a life that is good and pure and Wewill bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.( Al-NaÈl 16:97)And they shall hear the cry: “Behold! The garden before you! Youhave been made its inheritors, for your deeds (of righteousness).”( Al-A#r§f 7:43)anus), and 2) #awra mukhaffafa (thin #awra) which are other parts of the body that mustbe covered. The \anafÊ school makes a distinction between #awra that exists, a) duringthe ritual of prayer (the whole body except the face, hands, and feet), and b)outside the ritual of prayer. As for the latter category, the extent of the #awra dependson the following circumstances: 1) in seclusion, it is obligatory for a woman (and aman) to cover the area ‘from the navel to the knee’, except when there is a need touncover it; 2) in the presence of the husband, a woman does not need to cover anypart of her body; however, it is discouraged to remain naked if it is not necessary;3) in front of other Muslim women, it is obligatory, to cover the area ‘from the navelto the knee’; 4) in front of the maȧrim relatives, i.e., unmarriageable kin (see above),the #awra consists of the area ‘from the navel to the knee’ as well as the stomach andher back; 5) in front of non-maȧrim relatives, i.e., marriageable kin (and any othermale person), the #awra consists of the whole body except the face, hands, and feet;6) in front of non-Muslim women, the #awra is the same as for a non-maÈram male (seeIbn #$bidÊn, \§shiyyat radd al-Mukht§r, vol. 1, 140; 405–10; vol. 2, 464; vol. 5, 261;vol. 6, 371; and al-MarghÊn§nÊ, al-Hid§ya, vol. 4, 458–61). This definition makes itclear that in the \anafÊ school, the face, hands, and feet are not considered as #awra.And yet, one point is constantly mentioned in all fiqh manuals which is that, becauseof the fear of fitna, it is necessary to cover the face of all women who are not considered‘old’ (see ShafÊ# #Uthm§nÊ, Ma#§rif al-qur"§n, vol. 7, 214–20). MS’s decisive breakwith traditional fiqh lies with situations 3, 5, and 6; 3) has become an extension of 4since al-nis§" are not ‘women’ but ‘those who come next in the family line’; 5) and 6)have become readjusted, in that women are now allowed to show their entire bodiesin front of non-maȧrim strangers/relatives (men or women), including their heads(!),except for their lower and upper private parts. In other words, a woman who inpublic is dressed in shorts and a T-shirt observes the lower legal limit of the Islamicdress code, unless the cultural norms demand something different (e.g., a businesssuit at work).