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Did the four schools of thought agree that the 'awrah extends from below the knee to above the navel, or did the Hanbali school differ from them on that?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The four schools of thought (madhhabs) agree that a man's 'awrah (intimate parts that must be covered) is what is between the navel and the knee. This is the prevailing view among the Hanbalis, and it is held by the majority of their adherents. Al-Mardawi al-Hanbali stated in "Al-Insaf" that "The correct view of the madhhab is that a man's 'awrah is what is between the navel and the knee, and this is held by the majority of the adherents." The Fiqh Encyclopedia also states that a man's 'awrah is what is between the navel and the knee according to the Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is, and Hanbalis. This is the opinion of most jurists due to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Below the navel and above the knees is part of the 'awrah." Another narration from Ahmad states that it is only the two private parts, but the adopted view (madhhab) among the Hanbalis is that a man's 'awrah is what is between the navel and the knee.

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