does so, she is clothed but is treated as naked. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Women who are clothed yet naked, who go astray and lead others astray, will neither enter Paradise nor smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from a distance of five hundred years’ travel.”

If she does this, or prays with her hair, chest, arms, or feet exposed, she must repeat the prayer within its prescribed time.

As for a slave woman, the rulings governing what clothing she may wear for prayer are the same as those governing a man, except that she must cover her thighs. There is no disagreement that a woman’s thighs are part of her nakedness; the disagreement concerns only a man’s thighs. Ibn ‘Abbās and Jurhum reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The thigh is part of the nakedness.”

Anas ibn Mālik said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, rode swiftly through one of the lanes of Khaybar, and my knee was touching his thigh. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, drew his waist-wrapper away from his thigh, so that I could see the whiteness of his thigh.”

Al-Bukhārī said: “The report of Anas has the stronger chain of transmission, while the report of Jurhum offers the more cautious course, avoiding the scholarly disagreement.”

“It is also related that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was in an orchard belonging to one of the Ansār, with his legs dangling into its well and part of his thigh uncovered. Abū Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, entered, and he remained as he was, without changing his position. When ‘Uthmān entered, however, he covered his thigh and said: ‘Should I not feel shy before one before whom the angels of the Most Merciful feel shy?’”

If a slave woman prays with her thigh—or her navel, since that too is part of her nakedness—exposed, she must repeat the prayer within its prescribed time. There is disagreement if she prays with her abdomen exposed. Asbagh said that she need not repeat the prayer, while Ashhab said that she must repeat it within its prescribed time. In his view, the same applies to a man, though this is a far-fetched position.

If a man prays with his abdomen and back exposed, he need not repeat the prayer according to the well-known position of the school. If he prays with his thigh exposed, whether he must repeat the prayer within its prescribed time depends on the disagreement over whether the thigh is part of the nakedness.

My own view is that the reports from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the thigh do not contradict one another. Their meaning is that the thigh is not part of the nakedness that must be covered as a binding religious obligation, like the private parts and the anus. Rather, it is part of the nakedness that must be covered as a matter of noble and virtuous conduct. One should therefore not be careless about this in public gatherings and assemblies, or in the presence of people of standing and dignity. This interpretation gives effect to all the reports, and giving effect to all of them is preferable to giving effect to only some.