Is the thigh part of the ‘awrah?

The scholars (may Allah have mercy on him) differed concerning the thigh
of a man and whether it is included within the limits of the ‘awrah or
not. There are two views: 

The first view, which is the view of the majority of scholars, is that the
thigh is ‘awrah. 

The second view, which was narrated in the madhhab of Ahmad, and was the
view favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him), is
that the thigh is not ‘awrah. 

It
says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (32/57):

The fuqaha’ differed as to whether a man’s thigh is to be regarded as
‘awrah. The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that a man’s thigh is ‘awrah
and it must be covered. 

A
number of scholars – including ‘Ata’, Dawood, Muhammad ibn Jareer, and  Abu
Sa‘eed al-Istakhri among the Shaafa‘is, and it is also narrated from Ahmad –
are of the view that the thigh is not ‘awrah. End quote. 

Ibn Battaal (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Those who say that the thigh is not ‘awrah quoted as evidence the hadith of
Anas, and the hadith of Zayd ibn Thaabit, because if it was ‘awrah, it would
have been obligatory to cover it and the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) would not have uncovered it on the day of Khaybar, and he
would not have left it uncovered in the presence of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. 

So
what is meant by saying “the thigh is ‘awrah” is because it is near the
front and back passage. They were unanimously agreed that if a person prays
with his front and back passages uncovered, he has to repeat the prayer, but
they differed concerning one who prays with his thigh uncovered. This
indicates that the ruling on the thigh is different from the ruling on the
front and back passages. 

If
someone were to ask: why did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) cover his knee when ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan entered upon him? The
answer is: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained
the reason for that when he said: “Should I not feel shy before one before
whom the angels of heaven feel shy?”

End quote from Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhaari by Ibn Battaal (2/33-34).

Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: One of the things that they –
i.e., those who say that the thigh is not ‘awrah– quoted as evidence was the
words of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) in this hadith: “My knee was
touching the thigh of the Prophet of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him)”, because the apparent meaning would suggest that this touching
occurred without a barrier, and touching the ‘awrah without a barrier is not
permissible. According to the report of Muslim and those who followed him:
the izaar did not uncover it as a result of a deliberate action on the part
of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but we may
conclude that the thigh is not ‘awrah, on the basis that he left it like
that, because even though it is possible that this may happen
unintentionally, if it was ‘awrah he would not have left it like that,
because he was infallible (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

End quote from Fath al-Baari (1/481) 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: Is the thigh ‘awrah? 

They replied:

The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that a man’s thigh is ‘awrah, and
they quoted as evidence for that some hadiths, none of which are
unproblematic, either because the isnaad is not complete, or some of the
narrators are da‘eef (weak), but they support one another, so as a whole
they may be taken as evidence concerning this matter. One of these hadiths
is the hadith that was narrated by Abu Dawood and Ibn Maajah from ‘Ali (may
Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said:  “Do not uncover your thigh or look at the
thigh of another man, living or dead.” They also quoted the report narrated
by Ahmad and by al-Bukhaari in his Taareekh, from Muhammad ibn Jahsh
who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
passed by Ma‘mar ibn ‘Abdullah, whose thighs were uncovered, and he said: “O
Ma‘mar, cover your thighs, for the thighs are ‘awrah.” Another of these
reports is that which was narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta’, and by
Ahmad, Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi, from Jarhad al-Aslami, who said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) passed by when
I was wearing a cloak and had uncovered my thigh. He said: “Cover your
thigh, for the thigh is ‘awrah.” It was classed as hasan by at-Tirmidhi. 

A
number of scholars were of the view that a man’s thigh is not ‘awrah, and
they quoted as evidence for that the report narrated by Anas (may Allah be
pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) rolled up the izaar from his thigh to the extent that I
could see the whiteness of his thigh. Narrated by Ahmad and al-Bukhaari. Al-Bukhaari
said: The hadith of Anas is stronger in terms of isnaad, and the hadith of
Jarhad is more prudent. 

The view of the majority is more prudent, because of what al-Bukhaari
mentioned, and because the first hadiths address this matter in particular,
whereas the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) may be
interpreted in the different ways.

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (vol. 1, 6/165-166) 

To
sum up: 

This issue is a matter concerning which there is a difference of scholarly
opinion, but to be on the safe side and as a precaution to protect his
religious commitment, morals and dignity, the Muslim should cover his thigh,
especially nowadays when temptation and turmoil are so widespread, including
infatuation with appearances and images. 

Note: 

Some of those who say that the thigh is not ‘awrah make an exception in two
cases: 

1.When praying

It
is not permissible to uncover the thigh when praying, because that is
contrary to the command to wear one’s adornment at the time of every prayer.

Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

So
if we follow one of the two views, which is one of the two reports narrated
from Ahmad, that the ‘awrah is the front and back passages, and that the
thigh is not ‘awrah, this has to do with a man looking at it, but this is
not applicable in the case of prayer and tawaaf. It is not permissible for a
man to pray with his thighs uncovered, regardless of whether we say that
they are ‘awrah or not, and it is not permissible to circumambulate the
Ka‘bah (tawaaf) naked.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (22/116) 

2.At times of
temptation

Such as when the one who uncovers his thighs is a source of temptation, as
in the case of young men, for example. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What appears to me
to be the correct view is that the thigh is not ‘awrah, except in cases
where there is the fear of temptation if it is uncovered, in which case it
is obligatory to cover it, such as the thighs of a young man. 

End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (12/265) 

And Allah knows best.