Explanation of the author's statement: "...and covering his face..."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : He said: "It is also disliked to cover his face".
It is disliked for a person to cover his face while praying because this may lead to distress, and because when he prostrates, he will place a barrier between himself and his prostration. Therefore, this action is disliked. However, if he needs to do so for a reason, such as sneezing, for example, if he wants to sneeze while praying and needs to place his garment over his face in this manner, then a pressing need makes the disliked act permissible. An exception to this is a woman if there are men around her who are not her mahram (relatives one may not marry); in that case, covering her face is obligatory, and it is not permissible for her to uncover it.
It is disliked for a person to cover his face while praying because this may lead to distress, and because when he prostrates, he will place a barrier between himself and his prostration. Therefore, this action is disliked. However, if he needs to do so for a reason, such as sneezing, for example, if he wants to sneeze while praying and needs to place his garment over his face in this manner, then a pressing need makes the disliked act permissible. An exception to this is a woman if there are men around her who are not her mahram (relatives one may not marry); in that case, covering her face is obligatory, and it is not permissible for her to uncover it.