Question: If a woman has covered her entire body in a thick Burqa’, is it then permissible for other men to look at her?
Answer: There is no harm in looking at her. However, if looking at her clothes arouses lust in any man then he is not allowed to look at them because looking lustfully is definitely a sin.
This issue is explained thoroughly in Baĥār-e-Sharī’at: If a non-Maḥram woman is wearing very thick clothes which totally conceal the colour of her skin etc. then it is permissible for a man to look at her. In this case, he would be looking at her clothes and not her body. This is allowed only if her clothes are not tight, if they are tight and reveal her body shapes, such as tight trousers which reveal all the shape of her shins and thighs, then it is not permissible for a man to look at her.
Similarly, some women wear thin clothes such as a thin see-through muslin-made head scarf that reveals their hair, the blackness of their hair, their necks or ears; some wear very thin see-through outfits or some wear such shirts which have small spaces in between, which completely reveal their stomachs and backs; looking at women in any of these states is Ḥarām and it is also Ḥarām for women to wear such clothes in such situations. (Ibid, pp. 91)
(For further detailed information about the rules of ‘Satr’, please study Baĥār-e-Sharī’at, volume 1, part 3, pages 478 to 486 and part 16, pages 85 to 91, published by Maktaba-tul-Madīnaĥ.)
صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب صَلَّى اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد