There is a difference between being present and being allowed to see a woman’s awrah.
The Prophet only permitted their presence because they were thought to be like women in this aspect, not because he allowed their looking or uncovering which is what would actually make him a dayooth which he is free from.
An Nawawi explains that the Prophet banished the mukhannath from Madinah as soon as it became apparent that he pretended not to have desire but actually did which also shows he is not a dayooth.
The reason aisde from him posing a mukhannath, the reason why he was at her house was because he would come every Friday asking for food, and he was fed, this is shown from Abu Dawud 4109. Not for any sick reason Rob Christian thinks.
Also the narration Rob quotes of the mukhannath named Hit, describing the farj of women he used to enter upon does not mention he seen Aisha (peace be upon her) rather it is speaking generally as An Nawawi says he was describing a woman’s privates. His assumption of him seeing Aisha naked is just speculation what is mentioned in the ahadeeth is that the mukhannath saw Aisha’s stomach rolls.
Also after the man was found to be a fake mukahnnath An Nawawi says prophet banished all mukhanatheen from entering women’s houses after this incident. If the prophet aʿudhu billah was a dayooth he would not have banished all mukahnathun from entering their houses.
An Nawawi says there are two types of mukhannath: one is naturally like that by creation and is not blameworthy, and the other is someone who deliberately imitates women, which is sinful and cursed in hadith.
The Prophet only punished when the person crossed limits, not just for being naturally effeminate.
Translation: Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi mentioned a similar account about a mukhannath who was in Madinah, and it was said that his name was Hit. He mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) banished him to the area of Hamra al-Asad. What is firmly transmitted is that his name was Hit. The scholars said that the Prophet’s expulsion and banishment of him were due to three reasons.
The first is the one mentioned in the hadith, which is that it was assumed he was from those who have no shahwah (sexual desire), and so he was allowed to be around women, but in reality he did have shahwah and belonged to the category of men who are not permitted to be in the company of women. He concealed this and made it seem otherwise.
The second reason is that he used to describe women, including their beauty and their private parts, in the presence of men. It is already prohibited for a woman to describe another woman to her husband, so how much worse is it for a man to describe a woman to other men.
The third is that it became clear from him that he used to observe from women their awrah and body in a way that even many women did not notice, so how much more dangerous it would be for men.
This is especially the case since in a narration outside of Sahih Muslim, he described a woman so thoroughly that he mentioned what was between her legs, meaning her farj and what was around it. And Allah knows best.
The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Do not let these enter upon you,” is a reference to all of the mukhannathun,
because of what he witnessed from them in their descriptions of women and their knowledge of things that men should not know about them.
The scholars said that the mukhannath is of two types.
The first type is the one who is like that by fitrah (natural disposition), and he does not deliberately try to imitate their character, clothing, speech and movement of women.
Rather, this is how Allah created him. This type is not blameworthy, and there is no sin, blame, or punishment upon him, because he is ma’dhur (excused) and did not choose this. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not initially reject his entering upon women or his state, since it was part of his creation.
The Prophet only prohibited it after it became apparent that he had ma’rifah (awareness) of the awrat of women and their descriptions. He did not object to his being a mukhannath or to his appearance.
The second type of mukhannath is the one who is not like that by creation but intentionally imitates the character , movement, appearance, and speech of women, and dresses in their clothing. This is the one who is madhmum (blameworthy), and this is the type mentioned in the sahih hadiths in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made la’n (curse) upon him. This meaning is in accordance with the hadith, “Allah has cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.”
As for the first type, he is not included in the curse. For if he were, the Prophet would not have initially allowed his presence. And Allah knows best.
Sharh Sahih Muslim By An Nawawi (14/163-164)
