The Sharʿi Importance of Covering the ʿAwrah in Privacy and Public
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Covering the ʿawrah (private parts) is wājib both in solitude (privacy) and in public.
Linguistic Note on the Word
The Arabic word لباس (libās) means clothing, and it appears in several Qur’anic usages:
➊ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ
“They (wives) are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them.”
[al-Baqarah: 187]
➋ وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ
“And their garments therein will be of silk.”
[al-Ḥajj: 23]
➌ وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ
“And do not mix the truth with falsehood.”
[al-Baqarah: 42]
Hadith on Covering the ʿAwrah
Buhayz bin Ḥakīm, from his father, from his grandfather, narrated:
I asked: “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, regarding our ʿawrah, what should we cover and from whom may we uncover it?”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
احفظ عورتك إلا من زوجتك أو ما ملكت يمينك
“Protect your ʿawrah except from your wife or those whom your right hand possesses.”
He asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what if a man is with another man?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
إن استطعت أن لا يرينها أحد فلا يرينها
“If you can manage that no one sees it, then let no one see it.”
He asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what if one of us is alone?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
والله أحق أن يستحيى منه من الناس
“Allah is more deserving that one should feel shy before Him than before people.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3390; Abū Dāwūd: 4017; Ibn Mājah: 1920; Ahmad: 3/5-4; Tirmidhī: 2769; Bayhaqī: 1/199; al-Ḥākim: 4/179]
Conclusion:- Covering the ʿawrah is wājib both in the presence of others and even when alone.
- The only exceptions are before one’s spouse or bondwoman.
- The believer should maintain modesty before Allah even in solitude.
