Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
If man is praying and then his trousers are pushed back therefore his back is exposed and he doesn’t know whether some of his awra was exposed or not also while in prayer then is his prayer valid?
Walaikum assalam,
There are two main issues here:
If you mean that his trousers get lowered such that some of his lower back or upper rear is exposed, then if the exposed area is a quarter of the exposed limb, in his estimation, then the prayer would be invalidated if unintentionally exposed for more than the extent of 3 tasbihs [=saying Subhan Allah].
If you mean that because his trousers are tight, then if they completely define the form and shape of a limb that is awrah [=considered nakedness, which is between navel and knee for men, and the entire body except face, hands and feet for women], then this is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) and sinful, both inside and outside the prayer. A prayer performed with such clothing would be necessary (wajib) to repeat.
A General Rule
It is necessary (wajib) to repeat any prayer performed with a prohibitively disliked act, or if a necessary (wajib) act is omitted without performing a forgetfulness prostration at the end of the prayer. [Note that the forgetfulness prostrations only correct the forgetful, not intentional, omission of necessary acts.]
Repeating such a prayer within the time is unquestionable.
For past performances, the scholars give the fatwa that it is no longer necessary (wajib) to repeat the prayer; repentance is enough. [Bahr al-Ra’iq, Durr, Tahtawi]
However, the more cautious opinion, which should be applied to current performances and if the Questionable past prayers are limited in number, is that it remains necessary (wajib) to repeat the prayer during and after the time, along with repentance. [Ibn Abidin adopted this view.]
Repentance and Ignorance
Repentance is necessary in all cases, even if the mistakes occurred out of ignorance. It is an agreed upon legal maxim that, “Ignorance is not a valid excuse.” We have been made morally responsible to follow and implement the rulings of the Sacred Law; it is our duty to learn them. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Seeking sacred knowledge is an obligation of every believer.” Seeking knowledge of the obligatory and necessary is itself obligatory and necessary.
If, however, the trousers are tight, but not such that they completely define the form and shape of any limb that is considered nakedness, then it would be somewhat disliked (makruh tanzihan) and offensive, but not quite sinful. One should do one’s best, however, to wear loose clothing and to prayer with an upper garment (such as jacket, or even a tucked-out shirt) that hangs below one’s rear.
This is in the case of men. For women, issues of awrah are even more sensitive, for reasons that are clear. Even slight definitions of bodily curvatures are serious, so in their case it is even more imperative that their clothing be wide and loose.
I learned from a respected elder who is a sufi, gnostic, and dear friend, that the Israelis have purchased a lot of the garment industry here in Jordan. One unfortunate result of this, or maybe it is a sign of the times, is that women’s jilbabs are now very often tight in all the wrong places. The point is not to wear something called a jilbab; rather, that it be wide, loose, and modest.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) instructed all men and women that, “Modesty is from faith,” and that, “Modesty brings only good.”
May Allah give us all the tawfiq to gain useful knowledge and act upon it, in the footsteps of His Beloved Messenger (upon him be the best of blessings and most perfect of peace).
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani