The ʿAwrah (Private Parts to Be Covered) of a Free Woman and a Female Slave in Salah
✍ By: Imran Ayub Lahori
📖 Introduction
The ʿawrah of a free woman is her entire body except the face and hands, while the ʿawrah of a female slave is her entire body except the face — this distinction being for the sake of differentiation between a free woman and a slave.
❖ Qur’anic Evidence
➊ Allah Taʿālā says:
﴿وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا﴾
[Al-Nūr: 31]
“And they (women) should not display their beauty except what is (naturally) visible.”
📌 Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) interpreted “مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا” to mean the face and hands.
[Ibn Abī Shaybah 4/973]
📌 A similar interpretation is reported from Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما).
[Tamām al-Minnah, p. 160]
➋ The verse continues:
﴿وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ﴾
[Al-Nūr: 31]
“And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment.”
📌 Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله) states that this is a clear textual evidence that a woman’s legs and shins are part of her ʿawrah.
[Al-Muḥallā 3/243]
❖ Prophetic Statement on the ʿAwrah of Women
➌ Narrated by Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه):
“The woman is entirely ʿawrah.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Al-Mishkāt 3109; Tirmidhī 1093; Kitāb al-Raḍāʿ: Bāb Mā Jāʾa fī Karāhiyyat al-Dukhūl ʿalā al-Mughayyibāt]
📌 This Hadith confirms that a woman’s entire body is ʿawrah, except for the exceptions clarified through other evidences (face and hands for a free woman).
📚 Scholarly Opinions on the ʿAwrah of a Female Slave
The scholars differed regarding the ʿawrah of a female slave in comparison to a free woman:
➊ Ẓāhiriyyah (Literalists):
They do not differentiate between the free woman and the slave in terms of ʿawrah, arguing that the word “ḥā’iḍ” (mature woman) in the Hadith is general and includes both.
➋ Jumhūr (Majority Scholars) including Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Ḥanīfah, and others:
They maintain that a female slave’s ʿawrah is like that of a man, i.e., from the navel to the knees.
Evidence cited:
A narration from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather:
“If one of you marries his slave to his female slave, then he should not look at her ʿawrah.”
[Ḥasan: Al-Mishkāt 3111; Abū Dāwūd 418; Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Matā Yuʾmar al-Ghulām bi-l-Ṣalāh]
In another version:
“…He should not look at what is below the navel and above the knees.”
📌 Note: This Hadith refers specifically to the slave owner and his married slave, not a general rule for everyone regarding a slave woman’s ʿawrah.
References:
- Nayl al-Awṭār 1/538
- Al-Umm 1/183
- Fatḥ al-Wahhāb 1/149
- Al-Ḥāwī 2/167
- Sharḥ Fatḥ al-Qadīr 1/225
- Tuḥfat al-Fuqahāʾ 1/250
- Al-Kāfī, p. 63
✅ Preferred (Rājih) Opinion
The stronger and preferred opinion is the one presented at the beginning:
- A free woman is entirely ʿawrah in Salah, except the face and hands.
- A slave woman must cover her entire body except the face, to maintain a visible distinction from the free woman.
