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:

Assalaamualaikum Wa Rahamatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

 

Happy Ramadhan,

 

My request is that i want to know whether female has to cover her foot also while praying (namaaz).  Because usually our dress code is only upto ankle it means foot can be seen.  I came to know that we have to cover foot also while praying.  Can you please advise me in right way of wearing dress code for female  while offering  prayers  (namaaz).

 

Thanks

Allah Hafiz

 

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Answer:

 

Dress code of women in prayer

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 59:

O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons.   It is expected that they will thus be recognized, and not molested.   Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 31:

31      And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except that which is displayed of itself; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves, whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments.  And O ye Believers! Turn ye all together towards Allah that ye may attain Bliss.

 

There are two opinions amongst the scholars in Islam as to what does the phrase ‘except that which is displayed of itself’ mean and include.    One opinion is that it means the face, hands (below the wrist) and the feet (below the ankles) may be left uncovered, and the other opinion is that the face also has to be covered, and only the hands and the feet may be left uncovered.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4092  Narrated by Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

Asma, daughter of AbuBakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah (saws) wearing thin clothes. The Messenger of Allah (saws) turned his attention from her and said: ‘O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this’, and he (saws) pointed to her face and hands.

 

The most accepted opinion is that if the women covers everything except her face, her hands (below her wrist) and her feet (below her ankles),  she would be following the Command of Allah;  and if she chooses to cover her face with a ‘naqaab’,  then it would be considered purest and closest to the Command of Allah Subhanah.  And Allah Alone Knows Best.

 

Ref: Dress code of women in prayer

For the prayer of a believing woman to be acceptable to Allah Subhanah, she must cover herself completely in her ‘khimaar’ or ‘hijaab’ or ‘jilbaab’, just as she would when in the presence of non-mehram members of the opposite sex, even if she were to pray absolutely alone…ie. other than her face, her hands (below her wrist) and her feet (below her ankles), all other parts of the body of the believing woman must be covered.

 

Ibn Abbas (r.a.), Ibn Umar (r.a.) and Aishah (r.a.) narrate that the Prophet (saws) said, "Allah does not accept the prayer of an adult woman unless she is wearing a head-covering (khimar, jilbaab, hijab)."

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan