What is The Awrah of a Man While performing Salah?
C.J Ahmed-15.05.2023
The awrah for a man who is praying is that e should cover his shoulders and a covering that covers the lower part of the body especially the area that covers t\from the waist to the thighs which is known as izar. Even if the cover is covering the private parts is enough.
The following hadiths prove this,
Abu Huraira
A man stood up and asked the Prophet about praying in a single garment. The Prophet said, "Has every one of you two garments?" A man put a similar question to 'Umar on which he replied, "When Allah makes you wealthier then you should clothe yourself properly during prayers. Otherwise one can pray with an Izar and a Rida' (a sheet covering the upper part of the body.) Izar and a shirt, Izar and a Qaba', trousers and a Rida, trousers and a shirt or trousers and a Qaba', Tubban and a Qaba' or Tubban and a shirt." (The narrator added, "I think that he also said a Tubban and a Rida.") (Bukhari)
In this hadith it is clear that if you you do not have enough clothes, then one garment is enough and even if your awrah like the genitalia is exposed, it won’t invalidate your prayer.
In a hadith narrated by Sahl b. Sa'd (Rali),
"I saw men having tied (the ends) of their lower garments around their necks, like children, due to shortage of cloth and offering their prayers behind the Messenger of Allah (Sal). One of the proclaimers said: O womenfolk, do not lift your heads till men raise (them)" .
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Narrated by Asma (rali)
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (sal) say: One of you who believes in Allah and in the Last Day should not raise her head until the men raise their heads (after prostration) lest they should see the private parts of men."
(Sunan Abu Dawud -graded sahih by Albani)
In this hadith eventough men were praying with short clothes which could unravel heir awrah, the prayer wasn’t considered invalid.
Salih al Munajjid’s Wrong Fatwa and My Refutation
. The awrah for men in front of men is only the private parts and all the other areas can be exposed with no issues.
There was a very wrong fatwa issued in the website Islam qa which have brought forward the argument that the man's awrah is between the navel to the knees. This website is run by Salih al Munajjid who has extreme views in Islam which are Khariji in it's leanings. The arguments he has mentioned is as follows,
"There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that a man’s ‘awrah is the area between the navel and the knee (and the navel and knee are not part of the ‘awrah). See al-Majmoo’, 3/173; al-Mughni, 2/286 These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.”
2 – Ahmad (21989) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Ma’mar when I was with him, and his thighs were uncovered. He said: “O Ma’mar, cover your thighs, for the thigh is ‘awrah.”
3 – Ahmad (15502), Abu Dawood (4014) and al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Jawhad al-Aslami that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered and he said: “Do you not know that the thigh is ‘awrah?”
4 – al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thigh is ‘awrah.”
Shaykh al-Albaani said concerning these ahaadeeth in al-Irwa’(1/297):
Although their isnaads are not entirely free of weakness, they strengthen one another, because there is no narrator among them who may be regarded as suspicious, rather their weakness has to do with confusion and ambiguity. And there are similar reports which make one confident that the hadeeth is saheeh, especially since some of them were classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. And al-Bukhaari narrated it in a mu’allaq report in his Saheeh… But a number of these isnaads give the hadeeth strength, and raise it to the level of being saheeh, especially sincere there are similar, corroborating reports on the same issue. End quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/165):
Even though there is some weakness in the isnaads of these ahaadeeth, as there are gaps in the chain of narrators or there is some weakness in some of the narrators, nevertheless they support one another, and when taken as a whole they provide the required evidence. End quote.
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a man’s ‘awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284"
(Source-https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34976/the-evidence-that-a-mans-awrah-is-from-the-navel-to-the-knee)
In this fatwa of Salih al Munajjid, he brinngs in hadiths which he himself accepts as questionable and tries to use the old trick in the book which is to say that it corroborates with other hadiths. Now the uestion is, with what hadiths do the you corroborate? Even if we agree that some of these hadiths are authentic according to some scholars, we have to look at hadiths which indicate that the naval is not an awrah for men to understand the broader picture of this argument. There is clear evidence from the Sunnah which shows that the prophet (sal) accepted two opposing arguments if they were in the Sunnah. There is a hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim in which the prophet Muhammad (sal) ordered his companions after the battle of Al-Ahzab saying, “No one of you should pray Asr until you reach the village of Bani-Quraiza (A Jewish tribe). The hadith is as follows,
Narrated Ibn Umar (rali):
“On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us." Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups.”
(Bukhari)
Aisha (rali) narrated a similar narration stating:
”While they were on their way, the time of Asr came. Some companions said we should not pray until we reach Bani-Quraiza. Others said we should pray Asr now because the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not mean for us to leave the Asr prayer, but he wanted us to be in a hurry. So some of the companions prayed ASR, while others continued on until they reached Bani-Quraiza after sunset. When they went back to the Prophet, they mentioned to him the story; He accepted the action of all of them."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
This clearly shows that the prophet (sal) accepted both the actions of two groups of the companions because both of them prayed Asr prayer according to the Sunnah of the prophet (sal). Similarly the evidence showing that the thigh is not an awrah should also be accepted as well. What needs to be understood is that both are correct but Islam encourages leniency and lenient view of drinking while standing is what is more correct. Aisha (rali) narrated,
“Whenever Allah's Messenger (sal) was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful to do so, he would not approach it. Allah's Messenger (sal) never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah's Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah's Sake.”
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
Conclusion
The area that needs to be covered for a man when praying is only his shoulders and pivate parts.
The awrah for a man who is praying is that e should cover his shoulders and a covering that covers the lower part of the body especially the area that covers t\from the waist to the thighs which is known as izar. Even if the cover is covering the private parts is enough.
The following hadiths prove this,
Abu Huraira
A man stood up and asked the Prophet about praying in a single garment. The Prophet said, "Has every one of you two garments?" A man put a similar question to 'Umar on which he replied, "When Allah makes you wealthier then you should clothe yourself properly during prayers. Otherwise one can pray with an Izar and a Rida' (a sheet covering the upper part of the body.) Izar and a shirt, Izar and a Qaba', trousers and a Rida, trousers and a shirt or trousers and a Qaba', Tubban and a Qaba' or Tubban and a shirt." (The narrator added, "I think that he also said a Tubban and a Rida.") (Bukhari)
In this hadith it is clear that if you you do not have enough clothes, then one garment is enough and even if your awrah like the genitalia is exposed, it won’t invalidate your prayer.
In a hadith narrated by Sahl b. Sa'd (Rali),
"I saw men having tied (the ends) of their lower garments around their necks, like children, due to shortage of cloth and offering their prayers behind the Messenger of Allah (Sal). One of the proclaimers said: O womenfolk, do not lift your heads till men raise (them)" .
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Narrated by Asma (rali)
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (sal) say: One of you who believes in Allah and in the Last Day should not raise her head until the men raise their heads (after prostration) lest they should see the private parts of men."
(Sunan Abu Dawud -graded sahih by Albani)
In this hadith eventough men were praying with short clothes which could unravel heir awrah, the prayer wasn’t considered invalid.
Salih al Munajjid’s Wrong Fatwa and My Refutation
. The awrah for men in front of men is only the private parts and all the other areas can be exposed with no issues.
There was a very wrong fatwa issued in the website Islam qa which have brought forward the argument that the man's awrah is between the navel to the knees. This website is run by Salih al Munajjid who has extreme views in Islam which are Khariji in it's leanings. The arguments he has mentioned is as follows,
"There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that a man’s ‘awrah is the area between the navel and the knee (and the navel and knee are not part of the ‘awrah). See al-Majmoo’, 3/173; al-Mughni, 2/286 These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.”
2 – Ahmad (21989) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Ma’mar when I was with him, and his thighs were uncovered. He said: “O Ma’mar, cover your thighs, for the thigh is ‘awrah.”
3 – Ahmad (15502), Abu Dawood (4014) and al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Jawhad al-Aslami that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered and he said: “Do you not know that the thigh is ‘awrah?”
4 – al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thigh is ‘awrah.”
Shaykh al-Albaani said concerning these ahaadeeth in al-Irwa’(1/297):
Although their isnaads are not entirely free of weakness, they strengthen one another, because there is no narrator among them who may be regarded as suspicious, rather their weakness has to do with confusion and ambiguity. And there are similar reports which make one confident that the hadeeth is saheeh, especially since some of them were classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. And al-Bukhaari narrated it in a mu’allaq report in his Saheeh… But a number of these isnaads give the hadeeth strength, and raise it to the level of being saheeh, especially sincere there are similar, corroborating reports on the same issue. End quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/165):
Even though there is some weakness in the isnaads of these ahaadeeth, as there are gaps in the chain of narrators or there is some weakness in some of the narrators, nevertheless they support one another, and when taken as a whole they provide the required evidence. End quote.
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a man’s ‘awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284"
(Source-https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34976/the-evidence-that-a-mans-awrah-is-from-the-navel-to-the-knee)
In this fatwa of Salih al Munajjid, he brinngs in hadiths which he himself accepts as questionable and tries to use the old trick in the book which is to say that it corroborates with other hadiths. Now the uestion is, with what hadiths do the you corroborate? Even if we agree that some of these hadiths are authentic according to some scholars, we have to look at hadiths which indicate that the naval is not an awrah for men to understand the broader picture of this argument. There is clear evidence from the Sunnah which shows that the prophet (sal) accepted two opposing arguments if they were in the Sunnah. There is a hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim in which the prophet Muhammad (sal) ordered his companions after the battle of Al-Ahzab saying, “No one of you should pray Asr until you reach the village of Bani-Quraiza (A Jewish tribe). The hadith is as follows,
Narrated Ibn Umar (rali):
“On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us." Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups.”
(Bukhari)
Aisha (rali) narrated a similar narration stating:
”While they were on their way, the time of Asr came. Some companions said we should not pray until we reach Bani-Quraiza. Others said we should pray Asr now because the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not mean for us to leave the Asr prayer, but he wanted us to be in a hurry. So some of the companions prayed ASR, while others continued on until they reached Bani-Quraiza after sunset. When they went back to the Prophet, they mentioned to him the story; He accepted the action of all of them."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
This clearly shows that the prophet (sal) accepted both the actions of two groups of the companions because both of them prayed Asr prayer according to the Sunnah of the prophet (sal). Similarly the evidence showing that the thigh is not an awrah should also be accepted as well. What needs to be understood is that both are correct but Islam encourages leniency and lenient view of drinking while standing is what is more correct. Aisha (rali) narrated,
“Whenever Allah's Messenger (sal) was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful to do so, he would not approach it. Allah's Messenger (sal) never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah's Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah's Sake.”
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
Conclusion
The area that needs to be covered for a man when praying is only his shoulders and pivate parts.