Question: If a man wants to propose, what is allowed for him to see of the proposed woman?
Answer: “What is correct from the statements of the People of knowledge is that it is allowed [for him] to look at her body what will encourage him to marry her like the face, two hands, upper arms, chest, and shins. It is not legislated for him to see anything besides that. And Allah knows best.
It is a difference of opinion between the People of knowledge. Some of them say: it is allowed for him to see what he is able to and some say: it is not allowed except the face and the two palms. What is correct is that it is allowed for him to see what encourages him to marry her. For her beauty is in the face and and the hands indicate the softness of the body. There is no harm for him to look at her shins or her chest.
Looking at the woman is Sunnah and not wajib. The marriage contract is correct with and without looking”.
[https://www.muqbel.net/fatwa.php?fatwa_id=1084]
Translated by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
