Short answer: ḥayāʾ is the feeling that holds a person back from what is shameful and from falling short in what is owed, out of awareness that Allah sees. It covers modesty in dress and speech, shyness from sin, and respect for others. The Prophet ﷺ said "haya is a branch of faith" (Sahih al-Bukhari 9) and "haya brings nothing but good" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6117). It applies to men and women alike, and it never stops a person from learning or speaking the truth.
What haya means
The Arabic ḥayāʾ comes from the same root as ḥayāh, life. Ibn al-Qayyim, in Madarij al-Salikin, pointed to this link: the more alive a heart is, the more haya it has, and a heart without haya is close to dead.
English has no single word for it. It is part modesty, part shyness, part self-respect and part conscience. Scholars defined it as a trait that moves a person to leave what is ugly and stops him from falling short of the rights of others. It is not timidity: the Prophet ﷺ was the most modest of people and also the bravest.
Haya is part of faith
"Faith has more than sixty branches, and haya is a branch of faith."
Sahih al-Bukhari 9, from Abu Hurayrah. Sahih Muslim 35 has "more than seventy"
The Prophet ﷺ passed a man who was scolding his brother for being too shy. He said: "Leave him, for haya is part of faith."
Sahih al-Bukhari 24; Sahih Muslim 36, from Ibn Umar
"Haya brings nothing but good."
Sahih al-Bukhari 6117; Sahih Muslim 37, from Imran ibn Husayn
"Among the words people have kept from the earliest prophethood: if you feel no shame, then do as you wish."
Sahih al-Bukhari 3483, from Abu Masud
The last hadith works both ways. It is a warning: without haya, nothing holds a person back. Scholars also read it as permission: if an act is one you would not be ashamed of before Allah, go ahead and do it.
The Prophet ﷺ also said: "Every religion has a character, and the character of Islam is haya" (Sunan Ibn Majah 4181, graded hasan by al-Albani).
Haya in the lives of the prophets and Companions
The Quran describes the daughter of the old man of Madyan coming to Musa with haya in the way she walked:
فَجَآءَتْهُ إِحْدَىٰهُمَا تَمْشِى عَلَى ٱسْتِحْيَآءٍۢ قَالَتْ إِنَّ أَبِى يَدْعُوكَ لِيَجْزِيَكَ أَجْرَ مَا سَقَيْتَ لَنَا ۚ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُۥ وَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقَصَصَ قَالَ لَا تَخَفْ ۖ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ﴿٢٥﴾
Fajaaa'at hu ihdaahumaa tamshee 'alas tihyaaa'in qaalat inna abee yad'ooka li yajziyaka ajra maa saqaita lanaa; falammaa jaaa'ahoo wa qassa 'alaihil qasasa qaala laa takhaf najawta minal qawmiz zaalimeen
Then one of the two women came to him walking with shyness. She said, "Indeed, my father invites you that he may reward you for having watered for us." So when he came to him and related to him the story, he said, "Fear not. You have escaped from the wrongdoing people."
Quran 28:25 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Qasas
- The Prophet ﷺ. Abu Said al-Khudri said he was shyer than a virgin girl in her private room, and when he disliked something, they could see it in his face (Sahih al-Bukhari 3562).
- Uthman ibn Affan. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Should I not be shy of a man of whom the angels are shy?" (Sahih Muslim 2401).
- Musa. He was so modest that he would bathe alone, covered, and Allah cleared his name when people spread rumours about his body (Sahih al-Bukhari 278; Quran 33:69).
Read their stories on our pages for Musa and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Three kinds of haya
1. Haya before Allah
This is the root. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Have haya before Allah as He deserves." The Companions said they did, praise be to Allah. He said: "Not that. Haya before Allah as He deserves is to guard the head and what it holds, the stomach and what it contains, and to remember death and decay" (Jami at-Tirmidhi 2458, graded hasan by al-Albani). In other words: guard your thoughts, eyes, ears and tongue, eat only what is halal, and live knowing you will return to Him. The Quran asks simply: "Does he not know that Allah sees?" (96:14).
2. Haya before people
Not doing in front of others what is shameful, and respecting their rights and feelings: clean speech, decent dress, not exposing other people's faults, and not boasting.
3. Haya before yourself
Not doing in private what you would be ashamed to do in public. Scholars called this the sign of a noble soul: you respect yourself too much to sink to it.
Allah Himself is described with haya in a way that befits Him: "Allah is Modest and Concealing, and He loves modesty and concealment" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4012, graded sahih), and "Your Lord is shy and generous: He is shy, when His servant raises his hands to Him, to return them empty" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1488; Jami at-Tirmidhi 3556, graded hasan).
Haya is for men and women
Haya is often discussed only for women, but the Quran's command to lower the gaze comes first to men:
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا۟ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا۟ فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
Qul lilmu' mineena yaghuuddoo min absaarihim wa yahfazoo furoojahum; zaalika azkaa lahum; innallaaha khabeerum bimaa yasna'oon
Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do.
Quran 24:30 · Sahih International · Read Surah An-Nur
The next verse gives the same command to women, with the rulings on covering (24:31). Clothing itself is described as a gift, with a deeper layer beneath it:
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًۭا يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَٰتِكُمْ وَرِيشًۭا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ﴿٢٦﴾
Yaa Baneee Aadama qad anzalnaa 'alaikum libaasany yuwaaree saw aatikum wa reeshanw wa libaasut taqwaa zaalika khair; zaalika min Aayaatil laahi la'allahum yaz zakkaroon
O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember.
Quran 7:26 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Araf
For the rulings on what to cover, see awrah in Islam and our hijab guide. Haya is the spirit behind those rules: the rules say what to cover, haya decides how you carry yourself.
Haya online
Phones have made private sins easy and public sins permanent. A few questions people find useful before posting, watching or messaging:
- Would I do this if the Prophet ﷺ were sitting next to me?
- Would I want this read out on the Day of Judgement? The angels record every word (50:18).
- Am I exposing someone else's fault? "Whoever covers a Muslim, Allah will cover him in this world and the next" (Sahih Muslim 2699).
- Am I sharing my private life, or my family's, in a way I will regret?
Where haya does not apply
Shyness that stops you from doing what is right is not praised haya. Scholars such as al-Nawawi called it weakness or false shyness.
- Learning your religion. Aishah praised the women of the Ansar: haya did not stop them from learning their religion (Sahih Muslim 332). Umm Sulaym began her question about ghusl with "Allah is not shy of the truth" (Sahih al-Bukhari 130).
- Speaking the truth and standing up for justice.
- Asking for your rights, or asking for help when you need it.
- Commanding good and forbidding wrong with wisdom.
How to grow in haya
- Remember that Allah sees you, in private most of all.
- Guard the eyes. Most loss of haya starts with what we look at.
- Keep company that has haya. Habits spread.
- Remember death. The Prophet ﷺ tied haya before Allah to remembering death.
- Make dua. One of his regular duas asked for chastity among four things:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى
Allāhumma innī asʾalukal-hudā wat-tuqā wal-ʿafāfa wal-ghinā
O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity and self-sufficiency.
Sahih Muslim 2721, from Abdullah ibn Masud
Questions
What is the meaning of haya in Islam?
Haya is modesty and shyness that keep a person from what is shameful, out of awareness that Allah sees. The Prophet ﷺ called it a branch of faith (Sahih al-Bukhari 9).
What does haya mean in Arabic?
Haya (ḥayāʾ) means shyness, modesty or a sense of shame. It shares its root with hayah, life.
Is haya only for women?
No. The Prophet ﷺ was the most modest of people, and the Quran commands men to lower their gaze before it commands women (24:30-31).
Is shyness the same as haya?
Not always. Haya that keeps you from sin is praised. Shyness that keeps you from learning, speaking the truth or asking for your rights is not haya, and scholars called it weakness.
What is the hadith about haya?
"Haya is a branch of faith" (Sahih al-Bukhari 9), "Haya brings nothing but good" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6117), and "If you feel no shame, then do as you wish" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3483).
Sources
- Quran 7:26, 24:30-31, 28:25, 33:69, 50:18, 96:14. Translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 9, 24, 130, 278, 3483, 3562, 6117. Sahih Muslim 35, 36, 37, 332, 2401, 2699, 2721.
- Sunan Ibn Majah 4181; Jami at-Tirmidhi 2458 and 3556; Sunan Abi Dawud 1488 and 4012. Gradings as given by al-Albani.
- Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin, the station of haya. Al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, on haya.
This page is pending review by the scholars on our team.