of the prayer or not. They likewise disagreed about the precise limits of the ʿawrah for both men and women.

The outwardly apparent position of Mālik is that covering the ʿawrah counts among the Sunnah elements of the prayer, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah and al-Shāfiʿī hold that it is one of the obligatory duties of the prayer.

Their disagreement stems from two sources: the apparent conflict among the transmitted reports, and their varying understandings of the Almighty’s words,

“O Children of Adam, adorn yourselves for every place of worship” (al-Aʿrāf 7:31).

Is this command binding or merely recommended?

Those who regard it as binding say that what is intended is the covering of the ʿawrah. They argue that the verse was revealed because a woman used to circumambulate the Kaʿbah naked, chanting,

“Today some of it—or all of it—appears;
whatever appears of it I do not permit.”

After this the verse was revealed, and the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—proclaimed that after that year no idol-worshipper might perform Hajj and no one might circumambulate the House naked.

Those who view the command as a recommendation contend that the verse refers to outward adornment—such as an upper garment and other clothes that are considered finery. They cite the ḥadīth in which

“Some men used to pray with the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—tying their lower garments round their necks like small boys, and the women were told, ‘Do not raise your heads until the men have sat up.’”

They add: for this reason, when a person cannot find anything with which to cover his ʿawrah, there is unanimous agreement that he must still pray, whereas the jurists differed about one who lacks the means of purification—whether he should pray or not.

The second issue concerns the extent of a man’s ʿawrah. Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī held—and Abū Ḥanīfah concurred—that it spans from the navel to the knees. Others maintained that a man’s ʿawrah consists only of the front and back private parts.

The disagreement rests on two authentic yet apparently conflicting reports. One is the ḥadīth of Jurhud in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said,

“The thigh is ʿawrah.”

The other is the ḥadīth of Anas:

“The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—exposed his thigh while sitting with his Companions.”

Al-Bukhārī remarked, “The ḥadīth of Anas has the stronger chain, while the ḥadīth of Jurhud is the more precautionary.” Some scholars have therefore concluded that the ʿawrah comprises the buttocks, the genitals, and the thigh.