Al-Thamar al-Mustatab - Nasir al-Din al-Albani - (1/260)

Al-Thamar al-MustatabNasir al-Din al-Albani

Among the evidences brought forward by this group are the hadith of ʿĀʾishah and this hadith of Anas. The inference drawn from the first is plain, for it relates that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—deliberately uncovered his thighs. With respect to Anas’s report, its evidentiary force is likewise apparent in al-Bukhārī’s version: “Then he lifted the waist-wrap,” which indicates intentional action. One might, however, interpret it according to the wording preserved by the other two narrators: “and the waist-wrap slipped back,” whose surface meaning is that the garment receded on its own. Al-Ḥāfiẓ commented:

“It is possible to infer that the thigh is not ʿawrah (nakedness that must be covered) from the fact that he remained in that state, for even if the exposure occurred unintentionally, had the thigh constituted ʿawrah he would not have been left in that condition given his prophetic infallibility. Were one to argue that the exposure served only to clarify the ruling on what is legally disfavored, that would be conceivable, yet open to challenge, for in that case an explanatory statement should have followed immediately, just as it did in the incident of forgetfulness in prayer. The narrative preserved by Abū ʿAwnah and al-Juwayzī through ʿAbd al-Wārith from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz clearly shows the exposure continued, in the words: ‘The Messenger of Allah ran through one of the alleys of Khaybar, and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and I could see the whiteness of his thighs.’”

He further said:

“The apparent sense of Anas’s statement is that the contact occurred without a barrier, and touching the ʿawrah directly is impermissible.” (1)

Ibn Ḥazm added:

“It is therefore established that the thigh is not ʿawrah; had it been, Allah would not have uncovered it upon His Messenger—the purified, infallible one—during the period of prophethood and messengership, nor would He have shown it to Anas ibn Mālik or to anyone else. Indeed, the Almighty protected him from exposing his ʿawrah even in childhood…"

(1) Consequently, al-Suyuti notes in his gloss on al-Nasaʾi (vol. 2, p. 92), commenting on Anas’s report: “This hadith is evidence for those who hold that the thigh is not part of the awra (the part of the body that must be covered); this is the preferred opinion.”

ومن الحجة لهؤلاء حديث عائشة وحديث أنس هذا والاستدلال بالأول ظاهر لأن فيه أنه ﵇ كشف عن فخذيه قصدا وأما حديث أنس فوجه الاستدلال به ظاهر أيضا على رواية البخاري: ثم حسر الإزار. فإن مفاده أنه فعل ذلك أيضا عمدا إلا أن يخرج على هذا رواية الآخرين: وانحسر الإزار فإن ظاهرهما أن الإزار انحسر بنفسه لكن قال الحافظ: (يمكن الاستدلال على أن الفخذ ليست بعورة من جهة استمراره على ذلك لأنه وإن جاز وقوعه من غير قصد لكن لو كانت عورة لم يقر على ذلك لمكان عصمته ﷺ ولو فرض أن ذلك وقع لبيان التشريع لغير المختار لكان ممكنا لكن فيه نظر من جهة أنه كان يتعين حينئذ البيان عقبه كما في قضية السهو في الصلاة وسياقه عند أبي عوانة والجوزقي من طريق عبد الوارث عن عبد العزيز ظاهر في استمرار ذلك ولفظه: فأجرى رسول الله في زقاق خيبر وإن ركبتي لتمس فخذ نبي الله ﷺ وإني لأرى بياض فخذيه). قال: (وظاهر قول أنس هذا أن المس كان بدون الحائل ومس العورة بدون الحائل لا يجوز) (١). وقال ابن حزم: (فصح أن الفخذ ليس عورة ولو كانت عورة لما كشفها الله ﷿ عن رسوله ﷺ المطهر المعصوم من الناس في حالة النبوة والرسالة ولا أراها أنس ابن مالك ولا غيره وهو تعالى قد عصمه من كشف العورة في حال الصبا

(١) ولذا قال السيوطي في حاشيته على النسائي (٢/ ٩٢) - تعليقا على قول أنس هذا -: هذا دليل لمن يقول: إن الفخذ ليس بعورة. وهو المختار