Is It Disliked (Makruh) to See the ’Awra of Your Spouse?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

Is it makruh for a couple to take a bath together totally naked in the Shafi`i school? Is it also makruh for them to see each other’s awrah when they are all alone?

Answer

Thank you for your question.

Nakedness

It is permissible to take a bath together and to see each other’s `awra when all alone, especially if this is a part of foreplay, but it is disliked to see one’s spouse’s private parts in the Shafi`i school. It was narrated from `A’isha that she said: “I never looked at, or I never saw the private part of the Messenger of Allah.” [Ibn Maja]

It says in the Reliance of the Traveller:

m2.4 A man may look at his wife (or vice versa), including her nakedness, though it is offensive for either husband or wife to look at the other’s genitals.

Please see more details here:

• Is It Permissible to Sleep Naked with One’s Spouse? (Shafi’i)
• Performing ghusl with one’s spouse
• Is It Permissible to Sleep Naked with One’s Spouse? (Shafi’i)

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin and completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.