Women and Awrah

Women’s Awrah

Women's awrah is a more complicated issue and it changes according to the situation, for my opinion, the awrah of women is more complicated as she is the adornment of this world and should be observed carefully:

In ritual prayer:  A woman should cover her entire body excluding her face and her hands from the wrist to the base of the fingers. She should also cover part of her forehead and the area under the chin. A woman should cover her hair and body while performing the ritual prayer, whether she is praying in presence of her husband or she is praying alone in her chamber, as the basis for covering in prayer is different from the basis for covering in front of people.

In front of her husband: There is no restriction in Islam on what body parts a woman may show to her husband in private. The husband and wife can see any part of each other’s body especially during sexual intercourse.

In privacy: It is recommended that a person cover his or her sexual organs even when alone in private. There are exceptions such as when taking a shower or going to the toilet.

Among other women: The awrah of a woman amongst other women is the same as the awrah of men (from her navel to her knees). awrah in front of non-Muslim women is a point of debate. Some scholars say that women should cover all but the hands and face, while according to the most preferred opinion, a Muslim woman can reveal in front of a non-Muslim woman as much as she would in front of other Muslim women.

In front of male children: If the child understands what the awrah is, then it is not considered permissible for a woman to uncover her awrah in front of him.

In front of non-mahram men:  There is a difference of opinion on which body parts a woman should cover in front of men who are not her mahram. In the contemporary world, most Muslims hold that entire body of the woman, except her face and hands, is part of her awrah, so those are the parts of her body that must be covered during prayer and in public settings.