The ruling on a woman praying without covering her head

Q: If a woman who is not wearing the hijab is compelled to pray, or if she is not wearing the hijab in accordance with Islamic law—such as if part of her head hair or part of her leg is exposed due to certain circumstances—what is the ruling?

A: First: It should be known that the hijab is obligatory for the woman, so it is not permissible for her to leave it off or be lax in observing it. If the time for prayer arrives and the Muslim woman is not wearing the full hijab or is not properly covered, this requires detailed explanation:
1- If the lack of hijab or covering is due to compelling circumstances, she should pray in that state, and her prayer is valid and she is not sinful; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [al-Baqarah: 286] and His saying: [al-Taghābun: 16].
2- If the lack of hijab or covering is due to voluntary matters, such as following customs and traditions or the like: If the lack of hijab is limited to the face and hands, the prayer is valid but she is sinful if that is in the presence of non-mahram men.
If the exposure and lack of covering is of the leg, arm, head hair, or the like, it is not permissible for her to pray in that state, and if she prays then, her prayer is invalid, and she is also sinful from two aspects:
From the aspect of exposure in general if there is a man present who is not one of her mahrams, and from the aspect of entering into prayer in that state.
As for if there is no non-mahram man present, the Sunnah for her is to uncover her face when praying, as for the hands, she has a choice regarding them; if she wishes, she covers them, and if she wishes, she uncovers them, according to the most correct of the two opinions of the scholars, but covering them is better.