Awrah for men: from the navel to the knee

Awrah for men is, according to the majority of scholars, the area from the navel to the knee. It stays covered in front of others, and that includes the gym and the pool. The hard part in sport is keeping it covered while you move: most sports shorts sit at or below the navel and ride up above the knee as soon as you squat, bend over or swim.

What is the awrah of a man?

Awrah is the Arabic word for the parts of the body that should stay covered. For a man, the majority of scholars place it between the navel and the knee. That includes the hips, the buttocks and the thighs, front and back.

This page sets out that mainstream position and what it means for training. It is not a fatwa. If you have a question about your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.

Is the knee part of the awrah?

Scholars differ on this. Some count the knee itself as awrah, others treat it as the boundary, and there is a similar discussion about the navel. We do not take a side. Instead, we design so that the question never limits what you can wear: the waistband sits above the navel and the shorts run to below the knee, so both are covered either way.

Why do most sports shorts not cover the awrah?

Because they are not designed for it. A typical waistband sits on the hips, at or below the navel. When you bend forward for a deadlift or a kettlebell swing, the back of the band drops and your shirt rides up. That is where coverage at the navel fails.

The second problem is the leg. A hem that reaches the knee when you stand ends above it when you sit, squat or lunge, because the fabric is pulled up over the thigh. If shorts only just reach the knee standing up, they will not cover it at the bottom of a squat. A split or side slit makes it worse.

How do you keep your awrah covered while you train?

Test your kit in the positions you actually train in, not standing still in front of the mirror. Drop into a deep squat, bend over as if for a deadlift, raise your arms as if for a pull-up and see what moves. If the waistband drops below your navel or the hem slides above your knee, those shorts do not work for you, however good they look.

In practice, three things matter. A high waistband that sits above the navel and stays there. A length that runs comfortably past the knee, with no split. And fabric with enough stretch that it moves with you instead of pulling up.

What about the awrah when swimming?

Swimming adds two problems. Wet fabric clings to the body, and thin or light fabric can turn see-through. Most swim shorts are also cut well above the knee. In the water you need the same coverage as in the gym, in a fabric that stays opaque when wet and dries quickly. Our halal swim shorts are the same shorts you train in, made from a matte technical weave that is not see-through when wet.

Does this also apply in a men-only gym or changing room?

According to the majority of scholars, yes. The area from the navel to the knee is awrah in front of other men as well, so a men-only setting does not change it. And those are exactly the places where it matters in practice: the changing room, the squat rack, the pool.

Is tight or compression clothing acceptable?

Covering is about more than having fabric in place. Many scholars add that clothing over the awrah should not be see-through and should not show the shape of the body in detail, and they differ on how strictly a close fit counts against that. Tight leggings worn on their own therefore sit uneasily with a lot of brothers, even when every centimetre is covered.

That is why the 2-in-1 Short has loose outer shorts over the compression legging: the outer layer hangs over the hips, the buttocks and the upper thighs, and the legging covers the knee underneath. If you would rather have nothing close-fitting at all, the Long Fit is one loose layer to below the knee. For a ruling on your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.

What should awrah shorts have?

Shorts that cover the awrah during sport need a waistband above the navel, a leg that runs past the knee and fabric that stays opaque, wet or dry. At SITR. the waistband is about 13 cm high and double layered, with a braided drawcord, so your navel sits inside the band and not on its edge. The fabric is 96% polyester and 4% elastane, with 4-way stretch.

There are two styles. The Long Fit is one loose layer with the hem just below the knee. The 2-in-1 Short has loose outer shorts with a sewn-in compression legging that runs to below the knee. You will find both in our knee length gym shorts, and our comparison of the two will help you choose.