‘Awrah of men – The prophet covering his leg upon ‘Uthmaan’s entrance
12-1-2014 | IslamWeb
Question:
One of my relatives says that the ‘Awrah begins from the navel until the middle of the thigh, using as evidence the Hadeeth meaning that one day the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sitting with his thigh uncovered when Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allaah Be Pleased with them, entered upon him and he did not cover his thigh but that he covered it when ‘Uthmaan, may Allaah Be Pleased with him, entered. Is it a sound view? Is my relative rewarded for his Ijtihaad?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The Hadeeth in question was narrated by Muslim and others on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah 
where she said: ”The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was lying down in my apartment with his thigh or his shank uncovered then Abu Bakr sought permission to come in. It was given to him and he conversed with the prophet (in that very state, with the Prophet's thigh or shank uncovered). Then ‘Umar sought permission to come in and it was given to him and he conversed with the Prophet (in that very state). Then ‘Uthmaan sought permission to come in; the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sat up straight and set right his clothes. Then he (‘Uthmaan) entered and conversed with the Prophet. When he went out, ‘Aa’ishah said: 'Abu Bakr entered and you did not stir and did not observe much care (in arranging your clothes), then ‘Umar entered and you did not stir and did not observe much care, then ‘Uthmaan entered and you sat up and set your clothes right.' Thereupon, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: 'Should I not be bashful of a man whom the Angels are bashful of.'” [Muslim]
This Hadeeth does not indicate the permissibility of exposing the thigh. In his comment on Saheeh Muslim, An-Nawawi, may the Mercy of Allaah be upon him, said: "There is no proof in this Hadeeth to expose one`s thigh, because it is doubtful whether the uncovered part mentioned in the Hadeeth was the thigh or the shank.”
There are explicit authentic evidences indicating that the thigh is part of the ‘Awrah. Therefore, the ‘Awrah of the man is not confined to the middle of the thigh as your relative claimed. Please note that Ijtihaad is not accepted from any one except those who have attained this unique rank which requires diligence, vast knowledge, avid reading and encompassment of several branches of knowledge that the scholars clarified in the authentic books.
Therefore, no one deserves the reward for his Ijtihaad unless he fulfils the conditions of Ijtihaad and the imminent scholars testified in his favor. Only then do we say that if he reached the right decision he will have double the reward and if he made the wrong decision then he will have one reward.
Al-Khattaabi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: "This reward is applicable if he fulfills the conditions of Ijtihaad and is well acquainted with the methods of analogy. However, someone who is not qualified to make Ijtihaad is fabricating lies against the rulings of Allaah and is not excused for making this mistake. Rather, it is feared that he would be considered sinful."