What are the limits of the 'awrah during prayer?.
20 Sep 2010 02:10 GMT

Praise be to Allaah.


âAwrah in Arabic means a weak point along a border and the like. 

In Misbaah al-Muneer it says: Everything that a person covers out of dignity or modesty is âawrah. 

According to the fuqahaâ, everything that it is haraam for a man or woman to uncover is âawrah. 

Covering the âawrah, in the terminology of the fuqahaâ, means covering that of which exposure is shameful and causes shame, whether the individual is male or female or hermaphrodite. 

See: al-Mawsooâah al-Fiqhiyyah, 24/173 


Covering the âawrah is one of the conditions of prayer being valid because Allah, may He be exalted, says: (interpretation of the meaning):

âTake your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes) while prayingâ

al-Aâraaf 7:31. 


And the Prophet (sa) said: âAllah does not accept the prayer of a woman of childbearing age (lit. a woman who menstruates) except with a head covering.â


It says in al-Mughni (1/336):

Concealing the âawrah from view with something that does not show the skin is obligatory and is a condition of prayer being valid. This is the view of al-Shaafaâi and ashaab al-raây. End quote. 

Ibn Hajar said: 

The majority are of the view that covering the âawrah is one of the conditions of prayer.

End quote. Fath al-Baari, 1/466 


What is required of the worshipper is to cover his âawrah whilst praying, according to the consensus of the Muslims. The âawrah of a man is the area between the navel and the knees, according to the majority of scholars. 


With regard to women, the hair and the entire body are âawrah and she has to cover them, apart from the face and hands. If she does that, then her prayer is proper, according to scholarly consensus. 

See: al-Iqnaaâ fi Masaaâil al-Ijmaaâ, by Ibn Qattaan, 1/121-123; al-Sharh al-Mumtiâ, 2/160 ff.


If a person starts to pray with his âawrah covered, then during the prayer he is not sure whether some of it has become uncovered, then he should ignore that doubt and complete his prayer, because the basic principle is that the âawrah is still covered, and developing doubt about what you were certain about should not be given any attention. 

Al-Bukhaari (137) and Muslim (361) narrated from âAbbaas ibn Tameem that his paternal uncle said: A complaint was made to the Prophet (S) about when one thinks that something has happened whilst he praying. He said: âDo not stop until you hear a sound or notice a smell.â 

Al-Nawawi said: 


What the worshipper has to do is to prepare for his prayer before he starts to pray. So he should put on clothes that he is certain will cover his âawrah and leave clothes that he is afraid will let something of his âawrah show whilst he is praying, such as short T-shirts and other kinds of clothing which may rise up and show the lower back, lest some part of his âawrah be uncovered when he bows or prostrates. 

See also the answer to questions no. 3075 and 107701.

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