Is it permissible for a woman to pray wearing the niqab and gloves?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : Is it permissible for a woman to pray wearing the niqab and gloves? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : If a woman is praying in her home or in a place where no one sees her except male mahrams, it is prescribed for her to uncover her face and hands so that her forehead and nose touch the place of prostration, as well as her palms.
However, if she is praying and there are non-mahram men around her, she must cover her face, because covering a woman’s face is obligatory in the presence of non-mahrams, and it is not permissible for her to uncover her face in the presence of non-mahram men, as indicated by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and by the correct understanding from which no person of sound mind, let alone a believer, can deviate.
So if there are non-mahram men around her, she is obligated to cover her face.
Wearing gloves on the hands is a prescribed matter, for this is the apparent practice of the women of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding a woman when she enters the state of ihram:Sunan Abi Dawud 1826Sahih (Al-Albani), and this indicates that it was their custom for women to wear gloves.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with wearing gloves while praying if there are non-mahram men around her. As for covering the face, she covers her face as long as she is standing or sitting, but if she intends to prostrate, she uncovers her face so that her forehead touches the place of prostration.
The Shaykh : If a woman is praying in her home or in a place where no one sees her except male mahrams, it is prescribed for her to uncover her face and hands so that her forehead and nose touch the place of prostration, as well as her palms.
However, if she is praying and there are non-mahram men around her, she must cover her face, because covering a woman’s face is obligatory in the presence of non-mahrams, and it is not permissible for her to uncover her face in the presence of non-mahram men, as indicated by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and by the correct understanding from which no person of sound mind, let alone a believer, can deviate.
So if there are non-mahram men around her, she is obligated to cover her face.
Wearing gloves on the hands is a prescribed matter, for this is the apparent practice of the women of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding a woman when she enters the state of ihram:
must not be veiled or wear gloves
لا تنتقب ولا تلبس القفازينTherefore, there is nothing wrong with wearing gloves while praying if there are non-mahram men around her. As for covering the face, she covers her face as long as she is standing or sitting, but if she intends to prostrate, she uncovers her face so that her forehead touches the place of prostration.