Looking at the Naked Body of One’s Spouse 

 

Question:      Can a husband look at the naked body of his wife and vice versa? 

 

Name of Mufti       Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi

 

Content of Reply     In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

 

Dear questioner, thank you very much for having confidence in us, and we hope our efforts, which are purely for Allah's Sake, meet your expectations.

 

In the first place, we would like to stress that spouses are permitted to look at each other’s naked body, especially when this is done during intimacy. However, being nude in front of each other unnecessarily should be avoided.

 

In this regard, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America:

 

"There is no `awrah (parts of the body to be hidden) between the husband and wife. The husband and wife can be naked in front of each other. However, Islam urges human beings to observe haya' or modesty. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, "The haya' is part of faith."

 

Thus, one should not be nude unnecessarily. The husband and wife can take their clothes off in front of each other to enjoy their sexual relations, but after that they should cover themselves. It is not good to walk around the house naked, even in one's privacy and not in front of others. It is absolutely haram to be nude in front of other people unless it is before the doctor for medical examination and treatment only."

 

Excerpted with slight modifications from: www.pakistanlink.net

 

May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

 

Allah Almighty knows best.