Abayas with Embroidery & Designs - Ibn Uthaymeen

Is the wearing of an abayah that is embroidered considered to be from tabarruj (adorning one’s self)?

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen Rahimullah says wearing an abaayah or a scarf that is embroidered is, without a doubt, from tabarruj with beautification. And Allaah said to the women of the Prophet (ﷺ):

 وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى  “And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance.” -  Al-Ahzaab (33):33

And the Mighty and Majestic said:

 وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ  “And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment.” - An-Noor (24):31

So if Allaah prohibited the women of the Prophet (ﷺ) from adorning themselves like that of the times of the first Jaahiliyyah (before Islaam), and prohibited the believing women from striking their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment, then this points to the fact that it is not permissible to expose anything from beautification or display it because it is from tabarruj with beautification.

And it should be known that the more the clothes of the woman are further away from fitnah, the better and purer it is for the woman, and it shows her fear of Allaah and her close connection to Him.

Source: The Role of the Woman in Rectifying the Society Sh. al-‘Uthaymeen