Can Others see Your Private Parts? Modesty and Privacy in Islam
The Muslim faith places a significant amount of importance on modesty, individual privacy and honoring and respecting the human body. Muslims have been taught to cover their privy parts, as well as have respect for other people's privy parts, and privacy is always something important to maintain throughout one's life as a Muslim. These teachings of respect and honor comes from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) informs Muslims that to protect one's own privacy should not just happen at some points but all times while also making sure one respected another's private parts and privacy, even in situations when two same sex people have to share the same sleeping space.
1. Can you look at someone else's private parts?
From the hadith, you can infer that even people who are the same sex as each other cannot just be watching and staring at the others privities.
Everyone, human or animal, has an individual right to have a privately uncovered region and a Muslim is taught to abide by respect toward another's privacy and not make people embarrassed or uncomfortable when they need to cover such private regions. An example being, when Muslims are together (e.g.
Sleeping in the same room and on the same bed, if so possible, at opposite sides and with a small barrier between them), Muslims cannot have a person gazing inappropriately at one another's privates and Muslims learn this early on in their Muslim life by the teachings of the parents when Muslims are young.
You have an expectation that a man will wear what is decent for public eyes and have respect and coverage for privacy.
2. Can two people share the same covering, sleep together?
'Two men should not sleep together under one covering; two women should not sleep together under one covering.'
This means Muslims are not expected to do and go about this one duty even in a room sleeping two people can also be an issue as regard having the people in the room sleep with the same couverture if both cannot stay private.
As it can be expected for humans to do, individuals want their own space when sleeping to preserve the privacy of themselves. Muslims are taught from youth, too, the principle of respecting other Muslims personal space even when sleeping, or in this case, to be covered appropriately with one another in consideration for privacy.
As with most Muslim teachings, it is important to educate younger Muslims on how to practice this from a young age to integrate the habits well into the Muslim way of life from the earliest opportunity.
3. Do you cover your privates when other Muslims are present around you?
"I said [Muawiyah bin Haida], O Messenger of Allah, with what and to what extent can one uncover [his body parts], and what is it that must not be uncovered (haram)? He replied [The Prophet Muhammad]: Your private parts are haram [prohibited] from [being revealed to] any and all people except your spouse, and those persons who are under your control (who in a hadith narrated elsewhere also includes women under your control in pre-islamic and ancient times).
I said: O Messenger of Allah, what about two men, or two Muslims, are they looked at at all? He answered: You should cover the privates between yourself and Another if it is within your power to cover so that nobody will look."
This clearly means Muslims should cover the private part of their body except from his spouse or sex slave, from all people including men the same sex as him. Therefore, as it is your duty not to look at other humans' privates, one must keep themselves covered from one another, too, but more importantly if possible so no person can see the male Muslim's privates when they are with anyone other than Muslims like themselves and if that can not be helped, then Islam is not a religion of irrational rules.
4. Do you cover your privates when you are on your own?
The Prophet was then asked about whether a man who is on his own should cover his privates to which he said:
"It is most worthy that he shows his shame to Allah (Most High), glorified be His name,".
From this, you can be reassured that if you are not looking around the place to see if anybody else wants to look, this implies one can still enjoy their own natural comforts when on their own for obvious hygiene reasons that Islam doesn't deem to intrude on.
Hence you can do what you like in a room all by yourself but it does not mean you have full permission of displaying anything un islamically without care, for you must bear in mind Allah is also watching as he can see everything in the world.
5. How can we all uphold this Islamic
standard of being modest around others.
* Always wearing loose, well-fitted Islamic dress
* Staying on opposite sides of where people might want to be in the same location if necessary.
* Refraining from making excessive, staring eyes upon those who you are surrounded by, men or women.
* Making use of cubicles or changing rooms whenever that may be a need.
* Educating our young Muslim brothers and sisters how to maintain their Islamic morals from a young age.
* Remembering we will eventually all be with Allah, even when it is dark, and He knows what is to be done in the Islamic practice.
In conclusion
Muslims have learned how to conduct their bodies as individuals and not create any form of disrespect or shame towards others around them and to even maintain a certain modesty when alone in private knowing they are being looked at by the One who knows best (Allah subhanah wa taala). These principles are taught within the hadith from both Sahih Muslim and Jami'at-Tirmidhi which guides us in the appropriate ways which we all should have as Muslims with modesty.
Questions Which Can Be Repeated;
1. Is my privates visible from men too, just woman and boy muslim?
Yes my privates from Muslim men and women cannot ever be exposed except to his wife. As told in the first hadith cited in Muslim and this is very clear.
2. Two people sharing a cobert?
No you cannot share it so far and even two males, it must not be shared as it is stated. Two males or Muslims generally should not sleep under one cobertura (blanket).
3. Must I cover myself up privately?
Yes you must as it is Allah Most Worthy.