Is the thigh part of the awrah?

The questioner : Is the thigh of a man part of the awrah? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
Another questioner: A hadith ... of the Companion

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : ... of the Companion

The Shaykh : The scholars have differed, both in the past and in the present, regarding the thigh of a man, with some saying it is not an awrah and others saying it is a lesser awrah, while the greater awrah consists only of the two private parts. The correct view is what is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through more than one route, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And once such a hadith is established, it is not permissible for a Muslim who knows the authenticity of this hadith to contradict the hadith by saying, "No, the thigh is not an awrah," except if he has a doubt that prevents him from accepting this hadith or leads him to interpret the hadith as you heard earlier, where some say the thigh is an awrah but a lesser one. What leads him to this is what he reads in some of the authentic books of the Sunnah, in al-Bukhari or in Sahih Muslim, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) exposed his thigh on some occasions, and he takes that as proof that the thigh is not an awrah. But whoever is knowledgeable about the principles of jurisprudence, and as we mentioned before the prayer, if his action (peace be upon him) contradicts his statement, his statement is given precedence over his action, because the statement is legislation for his entire ummah, whereas his action may be specific to himself (peace and blessings be upon him). Likewise, if he is knowledgeable about the other principle which states: "If a prohibitive ruling and a permissive ruling conflict, the prohibitive ruling is given precedence over the permissive ruling", then his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): is a prohibition, meaning a barrier, meaning it is forbidden. The Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) exposure of his thigh in some incidents is an action that is permissive. So when the prohibitive ruling conflicts with the permissive ruling, the prohibitive ruling is given precedence over the permissive ruling. Here, two principles are present; if either one stood alone, it would make the thigh an awrah, so how much more so when both principles are present? So his statement: contradicts his action, so his action is given precedence over his statement. His statement is a prohibition, a barrier, and a forbiddance of exposing the thigh; his action was exposing it. So the prohibitive ruling takes precedence over the permissive ruling. Therefore, the correct view is that it is obligatory for the Muslim to strive to cover his thigh, because it is part of the awrah. As for delving into details for which there is no evidence, such as saying the thigh is a minor awrah and the two private parts are a major awrah, this is a matter of opinion and independent legal reasoning. There is no doubt, from a theoretical standpoint, that the thigh is not, in terms of being an awrah, like the two private parts; this is certain. But on the other hand, it may be that the thigh is more forbidden because it may arouse desire more than the two private parts. Therefore, there is no need to delve into this distinction of a major private part or a minor private part. It is sufficient for us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Yes.