Intimate parts in Islam

The intimate parts (Arabic: عورة 'awrah, ستر, satr) of the human body must, according to Islam, be covered by clothing. Most modern Islamic scholars agree that the 'awrah of a man is the area between the navel and the knees, and the 'awrah of a woman is the entire body except the face and hands. Exposing the 'awrah of the body is against Islamic law.
The Quran addresses the concept of 'awrah several times. Islamic scholars have used the relevant surahs and the hadiths to elaborate the concept of 'awrah which is used in fatwas.
In Arabic, the term 'awrah or 'awrat (عورة), with the root ‘-w-r, means "defectiveness", "imperfection", "blemish," or "weakness". The most common English translation of awrah is "nakedness". In Arabic, the word 'awrah is used in reference to both men and women.
In Persian and Kurdish, the word 'awrat (Persian: عورت, Kurdish: عەورەت) derived from the Arabic 'awrah, had been used widely to mean "nakedness."
In modern-day Iran, using the two word 'awrah to refer to women is uncommon and is considered sexist language. In Turkish, avrat is an often derogatory term for 'woman' or 'wife'. However, in Urdu the word 'aurat' refers to a woman, especially when showing politeness or respect.
The term 'awrah as it is used in the Quran is confined neither to women nor to the body. The Quran uses the term in various passages in Surah An-Nur and Surah Al-Ahzab. For example:
Another passage using the term 'awrah (in this case, to mean "vulnerable") is in Surah Al-Ahzab, where it concerns fleeing from battle:
'Awrah is also found in the story of creation of Adam and Eve:
Another word with an almost identical meaning to 'awrah is the word farj (Arabic: فرج) or the plural furuj (Arabic: فروج). Another quote concerning covering the 'awrah is:
The Quran admonishes Muslim women to dress modestly and cover their private areas. It explicitly states that "O wives of The Prophet, you are not like anyone among women" and as such has separate rules specifically for the wives of Muhammad. The Quran tells the male believers to talk to the wives of Muhammad from behind a hijab (curtain or veil). This passage is as follows:
While the meaning of khimār is debated, it is often believed to be a head covering that pre-Islamic Arab women wore as an adornment. Part of the people mentioned in the surah above are those among a woman's mahram.
This hadith is frequently cited by Islamic scholars to support their definition of the female 'awrah:
A hadith prohibits looking at private parts. According to Abu Saʽid al-Khudri, Muhammad said,
In Sunni interpretations, the 'awrah of a man refers to the part of the body from the navel to the knees. The Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanafi, and Hanbali schools of thought observe that there is a difference on whether the navel and the knee itself are included. In particular, these observations generally require that the cloth not be too thin, that it is not pale to the extent the color of the skin can be seen, that a man ensures extra covering if his genitals' shape is discernible, and stipulate that the modesty of adulthood applies once a boy becomes ten years old.
Most modern Islamic scholars agree that, in public, a woman must cover the entire body except the face, hands, and feet.
The covering of the female 'awrah changes according to the situation:
Other non-dominant views also exist, notably the more relaxed view that a woman must cover her 'awrah only during salah and ihram, rather than almost all the time, and the opposite view that a woman must cover her 'awrah all the time except in front of her husband.
Historically, the awrah for a slave woman during the era of slavery in the Muslim world, who per Islamic law was a non-Muslim, was different than that of the awrah of a free Muslim woman. The awrah of a female slave was defined as being between her navel and her knee. Consequently, slave women during the era of slavery in the Muslim world did not wear hijab and could also be displayed with a bare chest. In accordance with this definition, Umar ibn al-Khattab once reproached a slave girl for wearing a hijab with the words: “Remove your veil and do not imitate free women!”
In the contemporary world, some Muslims insist that a woman's 'awrah in front of unrelated men is her entire body including her face and hands, which must be covered at all times in front of non-mahram men. Others disagree and claim it is permissible to show the face and hands.
In modern times, the concepts of 'awrah, Haya (Modesty), various levels of seclusion of Muslim women, and the extent to which Muslim restrain their exposure of bodily aspects and association vis a vis Islamic clothing were not only contested by non-Muslims and ex-Muslims but also continuously been matter of discussions, deliberations, debates, and movements. It has also been part of advice literature, within Muslim societies including that of common Muslim individuals, various traditional schools scholars, intelligentsia, numerous political dispensations and also at times contested by individuals and groups of cultural Muslims; liberals and progressives, modernists and Islamic feminists. In the 1930s just after Turkish reformations under Kemal Atatürk, Malaysians debated adherence to traditional Islamic social restraints over 'awrah and modesty in contemporary Islamic clothing and whether Western modernism is really essential and beneficial.