Modesty and privacy are much too often mentioned in Qur'an and many a hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and it is emphasised to preserves one's awrah (عورة) from one another, for nakedness leads to lewdness.
In Arabic, the words awrah besides meaning defectiveness, imperfection, blemish, weakness, pudendum flaw, defect and fault also mean genitalia, loins, private parts. The word is used in the Quran to denote "privacy", "vulnerability" and "nakedness."
Most of modern Islamic scholars agree that the 'awrah of a man is the area between the navel and the knees, and the 'awrah of a woman is the entire body except the face, hand; exposing the 'awrah of the body is against Islamic law. It would be worthwhile to notice that unlike men, the `awrah of a woman is almost her entire body for it is more tempting that of man.
The Quran addresses the concept of awrah several times including guidelines on how one should dress and behave to avoid exposing one's body to others. In Surah An-Nur (24:30-31) of Qur'an the preservation and protection of one's awrah has been explicitly mentioned as under:
- For men: "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do."
- For women: "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap a portion of their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed."
The dress code of Islam pinches a lot for the non Muslims which they claim to be against the liberty of human beings, specially women who want to roam free. Unfortunately, many a LIBERAL Muslims, specially women, are averse to the Islamic dress code and blatantly reuse to adhere to Islamic dress code. We need to weigh the pros and cons of our rejection of Islamic dress code for an easy and carefree life in this world can become a bane in the life of the hereafter.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ too has forbade men and women to expose their bodies either openly or by wearing dresses that expose their nakedness. One such Hadith is quoted in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: Book 3 The Book of Menstruation - كتاب الحيض / Chapter 17 The prohibition of looking at `awrah / باب حْرِيمِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى الْعَوْرَاتِ / as Hadith number # 338a as under:
'Abd al-Rahman, the son of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, reported from his father:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: A man should not see the private parts of another man, and a woman should not see the private parts of another woman, and a man should not lie with another man under one covering, and a woman should not lie with another woman under one covering.
Arabic Text:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ الْحُبَابِ، عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ يَنْظُرُ الرَّجُلُ إِلَى عَوْرَةِ الرَّجُلِ وَلاَ الْمَرْأَةُ إِلَى عَوْرَةِ الْمَرْأَةِ وَلاَ يُفْضِي الرَّجُلُ إِلَى الرَّجُلِ فِي ثَوْبٍ وَاحِدٍ وَلاَ تُفْضِي الْمَرْأَةُ إِلَى الْمَرْأَةِ فِي الثَّوْبِ الْوَاحِدِ " .
In another Hadith, Aisha, revered wife Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has been quoted as saying: "Asma bint Abi Bakr entered upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wearing thin clothes. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turned his attention from her. He said: 'O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not proper that anything should be seen of her except this and this.' He pointed to his face and hands."
A hadith mentioned in Jami` at-Tirmidhi says: Narrated Ibn Mas’ud: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “A woman is to be concealed, for when she goes out, the devil seeks to tempt her.”
A hadith mentioned in Sunan Abu Dawood: Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin: "I was with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while Maymunah was with him. Then Ibn Umm Maktum came. This happened after the command regarding the veil had been prescribed for us. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Observe the veil from him.' We asked: 'Messenger of Allah! Is he not blind? He can neither see us nor recognize us.' The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Are both of you blind? Do you not see him?'"
Hadith mentioned in Sunan Ibn Majah, narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "There are two types of people of Hell that I have not yet seen: men with whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat people, and women who are clothed yet naked, walking with an enticing gait, with their heads looking like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise, nor will they smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from such and such a distance."
The above quoted Hadith is specially applicable to geys and lesbians. In Islam, any sexual relation except that a husband and wife is strictly prohibited.
Remember dear sisters and brothers, exposing one's body or wearing revealing clothes can be very tempting and evil makes it more pronounced to lure in men and women into lewdness. Here women are specially to be cautioned for they are generally in the habit of of showing off their bodies or wearing such clothes that reveal their body contours that invariably attract attention of the men, or even women to their bodies. Thus not only they commit a sin, but their action also tempts others to sin by gazing on their bodies with lust.
Other than husband and wife, no one else is to look at the awrah of others. Let us then adhere strictly to the dress code Islam has prescribed for men and woman and let no adult men or women lie under one sheet for such actions can become evil oriented, nor look at the nakedness of one another.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our reference page: Collection of Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about Warning and Cautions for more Hadiths on the subject
For more hadiths on varying subjects, refer to our reference page: Sunnah and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to know more about Hadiths and Sunnah of Prophet of Allah. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
Photo | Source of Hadith | Resource Reference: Wikipedia |
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