"Must a seven-year old boy be encouraged to recite the ritual prayer?

"Must a seven-year old boy be encouraged to recite the ritual prayer?" He said it is not obligatory but to encourage is a good thing. It is not necessary that a woman hide her hair from him until he reaches puberty.[^2] We see that again it is covering the hair which is referred to and not covering the face. Concerning 'What Their Right Hands Own' Again concerning "What their right hands own," if a female slave is mahram to a man, is a male slave mahram to his female owner or not?

I am using the term 'mahram' here erroneously with a purpose because this is an interpretation that others have. There is a difference when we say 'mahram' meaning, for instance, they are not permitted to marry. It is permitted for him to look at her hair but he is not mahram in the usual sense such as the father-in-law and his son's wife. Some have interpreted it this way.

When a question is asked about this, the answer given is that there is no problem if a male slave look at his female owner's hair. Again, hair is mentioned, not the face. There is a discussion concerning a khwajah (eunuch) and whether or not he is a male slave or a woman. The ruling was that he was like a woman and there was no problem if he looked at a woman's hair. A person asked Imam Ridha’ if is was necessary to cover before a khwajah and the Imam said it was not.

"They used to enter my father's house and women did not cover their hair before them."[^3] As to "the women of the Book," of course, they do not need to be dhimmah. There is no problem with looking at the hair of a Jewish woman or a Christian or a Zoroastrian woman or a woman who is none of these.

The Holy Prophet said, "It is not forbidden to look at the hands and hair of dhimmah women."[^4] Wherever you look you see that the issue which is an exception is referred to or questioned and the face and hands are not questioned. Whereas if it had been forbidden to look at the face and hands of a woman, they would have been referred to in the exceptions.

As to dhimmah women, some of the ulama believe that we must look and see what the situation was at the time of the Holy Prophet; what extent of the body was not covered? Clearly the dhimmah women did not cover their hair or their hands to a certain point. There was no problem, then, in looking at them. I have mentioned that in every exception, it is permitted to look without lust except under one condition.