The covering of one's nakedness (awra) is of utmost importance for a male and
female in Islam, thus the Qur'an and Sunnah have laid great emphasis with
regards to this. We also see the various books of Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh)
discussing the issues relating to the Awra of both the male and female in great
detail. In this brief article, I will attempt to shed some light and look
comprehensively as to what is a woman's Awra.
Awra is an Arabic term the plural of which is Awrat. Linguistically, it means a
hidden and secret place, and a person's Awra is that which must be kept hidden.
It also refers to everything that causes shame when exposed, thus, the Awra of
an individual is the area of the body which (normally) causes embarrassment if
exposed. (Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-Arab, 9/370).
In the terminology of Islamic Jurisprudence, Awra refers to the area or part of
the body that must be covered with appropriate clothing. In the English
language, it is normally translated as 'nakedness' or 'area of the body that
must be concealed'. Many people (normally form the Indo/pak) refer to it as
'Satar'. For the purpose of simplicity, I will use the term 'Awra' in this
article, Insha Allah.
THE AWRA OF A WOMAN
A woman's Awra can be initially divided into two categories:
1) Inside prayer
2) Outside prayer
The latter is then divided into further sub-categories:
a) In seclusion
b) In front of the husband
c) In front of Muslim women
d) In front of Mahram males (unmarriageable kin)
e) In front of non-Mahram males
f) In front of non-Muslim women
g) In front of non-Muslim Mahram males
1) Awra inside prayer (Salat)
A woman's Awra whilst performing Salat consists of the whole body except the
face, hands and feet. Allah Most High says: "O children of Adam! Wear your
beautiful apparel (zeenah) at every time and place of prayer." (Surah
al-A'raf, 31)
The majority of the Companions (Allah be pleased with them all), their
followers (tabi'un), Jurists and exegetes of the Qur'an have deduced from this
verse (along with the other evidences) the obligation of covering one's Awra in
prayer. (See: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Ahkam al-Qur'an, 4/205, Ma'arif al-Qur'an
(English), 3/565)
Sayyida Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "Allah does not accept the prayer of a
woman who experiences menstruation (i.e. who has reached puberty, m) except
with a head cover (khimar)." (Sunan Abu Dawud, no. 641, Sunan Tirmidhi, Sunan
Ibn Majah and others)
The great Hanafi jurist, Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states in
his renowned Durr al-Mukhtar:
"The Awra for a free woman (i.e. not a slave, m) is her full body including her
descending hair according to the correct opinion, except for the face,
hands.... and feet". (See Radd al-Muhtar, 1/405).
continue...........
pray for me my sister and my father
jazak Allah
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