What Is the ʿAwrah of a Man in Salah? Evidence-Based Ruling

The ʿAwrah of a Man in Salah According to Authentic Evidences
✍ By: Imran Ayub Lahori

Introduction​

The ʿawrah (concealable part) of a man in Salah is the area between the navel and the knees, and this is based on clear and authentic narrations. The majority of scholars consider the thigh (fakhidh) to be part of the ʿawrah, while a minority holds a different view.

❖ Evidences Establishing the ʿAwrah of a Man​

➊ Narrated in Hadith:
"مَا بَيْنَ السُّرَّةِ وَالرُّكْبَةِ عَوْرَةٌ"
"What is between the navel and the knees is ʿawrah."
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 247, 271]


This narration clearly defines the region that must be covered in Salah.

➋ Another narration from the Prophet ﷺ:
"الفَخِذُ عَوْرَةٌ"
"The thigh is ʿawrah."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd 3389; Kitāb al-Ḥammām: al-Nahy ʿan al-Taʿarrī; Abū Dāwūd 4104; Tirmidhī 2798; Aḥmad 3/478; Bukhārī Muʿallaqan 1/478]
[Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq classified it as Ṣaḥīḥ – Taʿlīq ʿalā al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/363]


This authentic Hadith confirms that the thigh is part of the ʿawrah.


➌ Hadith of ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه):
“Do not expose your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of a living or deceased person.”
[Ḍaʿīf: Ḍaʿīf Abū Dāwūd 867; Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 6187; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 269; Abū Dāwūd 4015; Ibn Mājah 1460; Ḥākim 4/180; Bazzār 694]


This narration is weak, but supportive when used alongside stronger Hadiths.


➍ Hadith about Maʿmar (رضي الله عنه):
“O Maʿmar! Cover your thighs, for both thighs are ʿawrah.”
[Ḍaʿīf: Al-Mishkāt 3114; Aḥmad 5/290; Bukhārī Muʿallaqan 1/478; Ḥākim 4/180]
[Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq graded it ḥasan – Taʿlīq ʿalā al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/362]


Although not fully ṣaḥīḥ, this narration reinforces the previously established ruling.

Scholarly Opinions​

There has been differences among the fuqahāʾ regarding the extent of a man's ʿawrah:

• Imām al-Shāfiʿī and Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمهما الله):
  The thigh is ʿawrah, and must be covered.
  [Nayl al-Awṭār 1/532]
• Imām Mālik, Aḥmad (in one view), and Ahl al-Ẓāhir:
  Only the front and back private parts (qubul and dubur) are ʿawrah.

Rājih (Preferred) Opinion​

The stronger opinion, supported by the most authentic Hadiths, is:


The area between the navel and knees—including the thighs—is ʿawrah and must be covered in Salah.

• Imām Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) states regarding the Hadith "Do not expose your thigh..."
  “This indicates that the thigh is part of the ʿawrah.”
  [Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 1/504]
• Imām Nawawī (رحمه الله):
  “The view of the majority of scholars is that the thigh is ʿawrah.”
  [Al-Majmūʿ 3/175]
• Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله):
  “The correct view is that the thigh is ʿawrah.”
  [Nayl al-Awṭār 1/532]
• Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله):
  “The thigh is ʿawrah.”
  [Tamām al-Minnah, p. 160]

Response to Opposing Reports​

Some narrations state that the Prophet ﷺ uncovered his thigh on the day of Khaybar
[Bukhārī 371; Aḥmad 3/102],
or that he was seen with his thigh exposed in his home by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, but covered it when ʿUthmān entered
[Ḥasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1/298]


These reports do not contradict the prohibition on exposing the thigh because:

“Statement takes precedence over action.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/532–534; Tamām al-Minnah, p. 159]


Also, some actions of the Prophet ﷺ may have been exclusive to him, and not general rulings for the Ummah.

Conclusion​

• The ʿawrah of a man is from the navel to the knees, including the thighs.
• Authentic Hadiths such as "الفخذ عورة" ("The thigh is ʿawrah") form the basis of the ruling.
• The stronger scholarly opinion is that the thigh must be covered in Salah.