What is the ruling on exposing the feet in prayer for a woman?
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The questioner : This is a message that arrived from Tabuk. The listener, N N S al-'Anazi, says: "O honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on exposing the feet in prayer for a woman?"
The Shaykh : The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed regarding the permissibility of a woman exposing her hands and feet in prayer. Some of them said that it is necessary to cover the hands and feet, because according to this opinion, the woman is entirely an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in prayer except for her face.
And some of them said that it is permissible for a woman to expose her hands and feet in prayer, just as it is permissible for her to expose her face. I have not verified which of the two opinions is more correct. Based on this, we say that if a woman wants to pray, the safest course for her is to cover her hands and feet. And if someone comes asking after she has prayed with her hands and feet exposed, we do not order her to repeat the prayer. Thus, there is a difference between a matter that has occurred and a matter that has not occurred. If someone has not done the act, we order him to be cautious. But if he has done it, we do not compel him to repeat it, given the conflicting evidence. What we said—that the woman in prayer is an 'awrah except for her face, or except for her face, hands, and feet—is intended to apply if she prays in her house, or if she prays and there are only men who are her mahram (a relative one may not marry) present. However, if she prays in the mosque, or if there are men who are not her mahram around her, it is obligatory for her to cover her face, and it is not permissible for her to expose it.
What some women do by exposing their faces when they pray in the mosque, especially in the Prophet's Mosque or the Sacred Mosque, claiming that the woman in prayer is entirely an 'awrah except for her face, is an error in understanding. This is because there is a difference between the 'awrah in prayer and the 'awrah in looking. This is similar to what some women imagine when they enter the state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage). It is prescribed for the woman in ihram to expose her face, so some women assume that this is prescribed even if there are men who are not their mahram present. You will find her exposing her face from the time she enters ihram until she exits it. This is an error. Rather, if the woman in ihram passes by men who are not her mahram, or if men who are not her mahram pass by her, it is obligatory for her to cover her face. It does not harm her if the covering touches her face, because there is no evidence that it is forbidden for the face to be touched. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed regarding the permissibility of a woman exposing her hands and feet in prayer. Some of them said that it is necessary to cover the hands and feet, because according to this opinion, the woman is entirely an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in prayer except for her face.
And some of them said that it is permissible for a woman to expose her hands and feet in prayer, just as it is permissible for her to expose her face. I have not verified which of the two opinions is more correct. Based on this, we say that if a woman wants to pray, the safest course for her is to cover her hands and feet. And if someone comes asking after she has prayed with her hands and feet exposed, we do not order her to repeat the prayer. Thus, there is a difference between a matter that has occurred and a matter that has not occurred. If someone has not done the act, we order him to be cautious. But if he has done it, we do not compel him to repeat it, given the conflicting evidence. What we said—that the woman in prayer is an 'awrah except for her face, or except for her face, hands, and feet—is intended to apply if she prays in her house, or if she prays and there are only men who are her mahram (a relative one may not marry) present. However, if she prays in the mosque, or if there are men who are not her mahram around her, it is obligatory for her to cover her face, and it is not permissible for her to expose it.
What some women do by exposing their faces when they pray in the mosque, especially in the Prophet's Mosque or the Sacred Mosque, claiming that the woman in prayer is entirely an 'awrah except for her face, is an error in understanding. This is because there is a difference between the 'awrah in prayer and the 'awrah in looking. This is similar to what some women imagine when they enter the state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage). It is prescribed for the woman in ihram to expose her face, so some women assume that this is prescribed even if there are men who are not their mahram present. You will find her exposing her face from the time she enters ihram until she exits it. This is an error. Rather, if the woman in ihram passes by men who are not her mahram, or if men who are not her mahram pass by her, it is obligatory for her to cover her face. It does not harm her if the covering touches her face, because there is no evidence that it is forbidden for the face to be touched. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.