Sharia Ruling on Face Covering in Women’s Home Prayer
The Ruling in Sharia on a Woman Covering Her Face During Prayer at Home
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In the light of authentic ahadith, to protect a woman’s well-being, chastity, and modesty, and to save her from trials and corruption, Rasulullah ﷺ declared that praying in the house is more virtuous for a woman compared to praying in the mosque. And for prayer within the house, a woman should prefer a concealed part of the house or an inner chamber. The Prophet ﷺ’s statement is:
صلاةُ المرأةِ في بيتِها أفضلُ من صلاتِها في حجرتِها وصلاتُها في مَخدعِها أفضلُ من صلاتِها في بيتِها
(صحيح أبي داود : ۵٧٠)
“A woman’s prayer in her main room is better than her prayer in her courtyard, and her prayer in her inner chamber is better than her prayer in her main room.”
Performing prayer in the house will grant a woman the same reward as she would receive for praying in congregation in a mosque. It should be remembered that by not praying in congregation in the mosque, a woman is not deprived of the virtue that men obtain from performing congregational prayer, with the exception of two mosques: Masjid al-Haram or Masjid al-Nabawi ﷺ. The evidence for this is this hadith:
عن ابن مسعود رضی اللہ عنہ قال: ما صلّت المرأۃ فی مکان خیر لھا من بیتھا الّا أن تکون المسجد الحرام أو مسجد النّبی صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلم الّا امرأۃ تخرج فی منقلیھا یعنی خفّیھا۔
“Sayyiduna Ibn Masud رضی اللہ عنہ said, ‘No place of prayer for a woman is better than her house, unless it is Masjid al-Haram or the Prophet’s Mosque ﷺ, and the woman goes out wearing her leather socks (khuff).'”
(Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir li’l-Tabarani: 293/9)
However, there is no harm in a woman going to the mosque to perform prayer. In fact, during the time of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, the female companions (Sahabiyat) used to participate in the Jumu’ah prayer. In the light of authentic ahadith, the beloved Prophet ﷺ permitted women to go to the mosque, yet he declared prayer at home to be more virtuous. He ﷺ said:
لا تمنعوا نساءَكمُ المساجدَ وبيوتُهنَّ خيرٌ لَهنَّ
(صحيح أبي داود: ۵٦٧)
“Do not prevent your women from the mosques, but their houses are better for them.”
As for the matter of a woman’s satr (covering) for prayer in homes, for a non-mahram, the entire woman must be covered. In the absence of a non-mahram, a woman’s face is not required to be covered, just as she can be in her home in front of her mahrams without a headscarf. However, in the presence of a non-mahram in the house, she will remain with complete satr.
For prayer, if a woman is alone or only her mahrams are present, then it is obligatory for the woman to cover her entire body except for the face. Otherwise, if she is performing prayer at home and non-mahrams are also present in the house, then in that case, it will be obligatory for the woman to cover her face along with the entire body.
Regarding this, Al-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen states:
“During prayer, it is necessary for a woman to cover her entire body. Her whole body, except for the face, is wajib al-satr (obligatory to be covered). If her mahrams are present or if she is praying alone, she should not cover her face during prayer.
If she is praying in the presence of non-mahram men, then she must cover her face during prayer and at other times as well, because the face is wajib al-satr.”
[See: Khawateen ki Namaz aur Chand Masail (A Woman’s Prayer and Some Issues)]
Regarding a woman wearing gloves while praying, Al-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen says:
“A glove is a sock for the hand, so if a woman is in a state of ihram, it is impermissible for her to wear it. The statement of the Noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is:
’’لاتنتقب المرأۃ ولا تلبس القفازین‘‘۔
‘A woman should neither wear a niqab nor gloves.’
Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat li’l-Tabarani (5/10), Hadith: (6420), its chain is weak, contains Umar bin Suhban, who is weak (Al-Taqrib). See Majma’ al-Zawa’id (3/222). I say some of it is in the Sahih, Abu Dawood (1825) (Sahih), Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith: (1838) part of the hadith.
Therefore, it is haram for a woman to wear gloves during ihram.
However, if a woman is not in a state of ihram and is praying, and there are no non-mahram men near her, then it is better and more virtuous for her to take off the gloves and pray, so that her hands directly touch the place of prayer. Similarly, if there are non-mahram men around her and she has covered her face, she should still remove the cloth from her face when prostrating (sajdah), because prostrating on a piece of clothing worn on the body, such as a handkerchief, scarf, or garment, is makruh (disliked) without a necessity. The evidence for this is the narration of Hazrat Anas رضی اللہ عنہ that:
‘We used to pray with the Noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the hot weather. If a person could not place his forehead on the ground, he would spread a cloth and prostrate on it.’ — Sunan Abi Dawood, Kitab al-Salat, Bab al-Rajul Yasjud ‘ala Thawbih, Hadith: (660) (Sahih) —
In this, placing a cloth on the forehead is conditioned upon the inability [to do otherwise].”
[See: Khawateen ki Namaz aur Chand Masail (A Woman’s Prayer and Some Issues)]
Regarding covering the feet during prayer, there are two opinions among the scholars. The more virtuous and correct (rajih) opinion is that the feet should also be covered. Regarding this, Al-Shaykh Saleh bin Fawzan hafizahullah says:
“The hands and feet must be covered in all circumstances during prayer, whether non-mahram men are present or not. This is because, during prayer, a woman’s entire body, except for the face, is wajib al-satr.”
In this regard, please see the fatwa of Allamah Muhammad bin Saleh al-Uthaymeen ؒ:
Question: What is the ruling if a woman’s hands and feet are uncovered during prayer, when no one is there and the woman is praying in her home?
Answer ــــــــــــــــــــــ
Alhamdulillah, was-salatu was-salamu ‘ala Rasulillah, amma ba’d!
In the Hanbali school of thought, the well-known position is that in prayer, the entire body of a free and adult woman is to be covered except for her face. Therefore, it is not permissible for her to uncover her hands and feet. However, the position of many scholars is that it is permissible for a woman to keep her hands and feet uncovered in prayer. Precaution lies in avoiding this. But let’s assume that if a woman has uncovered her hands and feet in prayer and then seeks a fatwa on the matter, no one can say that she should repeat her prayer.
ھذا ما عندی واللہ اعلم بالصواب
(This is what I know, and Allah knows best.)
Fatawa Islamiyah/Volume: 1/Page: 381
والله ولي التوفيق
(And Allah is the grantor of success.)
: Mrs. Ansari
