Asalamu Alaikum. would it be haram for a woman to show her feet in public. My feet are very sensitive to heat and even in the winter, I rarely ever wear socks and shoes. I usually just wear "flats," because my body cannot take the heat. I have heard from some people that it is haram to show feet, and others tell me that it is not haram, so I am not sure who is right and who is wrong. What parts, if any of a women's foot can be shown in public? Can the top of the foot show, such as when wearing flats? Jazakum Allah Khair.

All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on His last prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

Abu Dawood reported that Oum Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “She should pray in a khimaar (head cover) and an elaborate dress that covers the tops of her feet.” Some trace this to the Prophet, but most scholars of hadeeth accept it as the speech of Oum Salamah. Even then, she is the highest authority to address the issue directly, and being the wife of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) adds weight to her fatwa regarding this issue.  Also, there is no indication that a woman is to show her feet, and Ibn Abbas interpreted the zeeenah she may show (as in Surat an-Noor) to refer to the face and hands only. Moreover, there is a hadeeth of controversial authenticity, yet validated by some scholars of hadeeth, in whuch Abu Dawood reported from Ayisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, “When a girl reaches the age of menstruation, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands."

Having said that, there is still some controversy over the covering of the feet for women. The Hanafis add them to the face and hands, with regard to what she is allowed to show. The Majority only exclude the face and hands from what she may show. Some Hanbalis only excluded the face, and others didn’t exclude anything except the eyes.

The details of the various positions may be found in the books of Fiqh, but the position I choose is that she should cover the entire body with the exclusion of the face and hands only. That is the position of the majority (Malikis, Shafe’ees, Some Hanbalis, as well as Zahiris)

You may try socks that are made of cotton or some material that doesn’t cause excessive warmth. May Allah facilitate your affairs.

Allah knows best.