Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

Sight (ru'ya) in the rulings: seeing as a legal basis

الرؤية (في الفقه)

In lexicon ru'ya is perceiving a thing with the eye, and it may also be by the heart; jurists mostly use the first sense. 1 The ruling on seeking sight varies with its purpose: sighting the new moon of Ramadan is a collective duty for the Hanafis, seeing a woman one is considering marrying is recommended, seeing a forbidden part of the body is unlawful, and seeing ordinary things is permitted. 2 Deliberately looking at what is awra is forbidden except in necessity, such as treatment or testimony, and spouses may look at each other's bodies. 2 3 Looking with desire at what is not awra is forbidden. 3 A suitor may look at the woman he intends to marry, and it is sunna; repeated looks are allowed. 3 A person who prayed with tayammum for lack of water and then sees water he can use before entering the prayer has his tayammum voided. 3 4 A sale requires knowledge of the goods, and sight is the way to it; sight at the contract removes any option of sight, and earlier sight serves if the goods have not visibly changed. 4 5 For uniform goods sight of a part suffices; for varied goods sight of what shows the purpose suffices. 5 A witness testifies only to what he knows by sight or hearing; the Hanafis and Shafi'is require sight with hearing for statements, while the Malikis and Hanbalis accept hearing alone. 6 7 Sight has effects: fasting is due on sighting the new moon of Ramadan, a seen wrong must be changed according to its degrees, and a seen defect after a sale gives the buyer a right of return. 7 8

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Law and courtsFamily, marriage and kinship

Summary

In the lexicon ru'ya is perceiving a thing with the eye, and it may also be by the heart; the jurists mostly use the first sense. 1

General ruling

The ruling on seeking sight varies with its purpose: sighting the new moon of Ramadan is a collective duty for the Hanafis, seeing a woman one intends to marry is recommended, seeing what is awra is unlawful, and seeing ordinary things is permitted. 2

Deliberately looking at what is awra is forbidden except in necessity, such as treatment or testimony, and spouses may look at each other's bodies. 2 3

Where it is discussed

The effect of sight is treated under the option of sight in sale, under testimony, under the sighting of the crescent for the months, and under betrothal and the rules of tayammum and prayer. 3 4 8

People and things also explored

Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Awl (proportional reduction of shares in inheritance)· Breastfeeding and weaning· Divorce before consummation· Hadiyya (gift)· Hiba (gift: its pillars, the parties, the thing given, possession, return and conditions)· Iddah (waiting period)· Maintenance of the divorced nursing mother and infant

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8539
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8540
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8541
  4. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8542
  5. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8543
  6. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8544
  7. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8545
  8. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8546
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Sight (ru'ya) in the rulings: seeing as a legal basis”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ruyah-fiqh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period

In his commentary on verse 235, Sha'rawi holds that allusion to a proposal to a woman in her waiting period is allowed, while open declaration and a secret promise are forbidden, and that the firm resolve to marry may not be made until the waiting period ends. He reads the contract as passing through three stages: allusion, resolve, and the contract.