Can men be topless?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Asalaam aleikum
I wanted to know if men are allowed to go
topless in public, for example on a beach in front of non-muslims?
Thank you
Allah hafiz
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Can men be topless?
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
The Islamic ‘satr’ or parts of the body which is
obligatory for the believing man to hide from everyone except one’s wife, is
from his navel to his knees inclusive.
Thus if a man removes his upper garment in a way where his ‘satr’ from
his navel to his knees inclusive is covered, there is absolutely no harm. The ‘satr’ of the believing man must be
covered from all except his wives, regardless if the others are believers or
non-believers, males or females.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan