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:

Assalamalaikum

i would like to know whether it is necessary to wear an abaya on top of our traditional dress ie,kurta shalwar if it is not very tight or very flashy.the head scarf is being worn is it necessary to cover ones face too? should we cover our feet during prayers and while going in front of non-mehram?

jazakallah

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Answer:

Feet in prayer and cover face in hijab

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.

Your Question: i would like to know whether it is necessary to wear an abaya on top of our traditional dress ie,kurta shalwar if it is not very tight or very flashy.the head scarf is being worn

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 An-Noor verse 31:

And O Prophet, enjoin the believing women to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their ‘zeenata hunna’ (beauty, adornment, etc.) except that which is displayed of itself , and to draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their ‘zeenata hunna’ (beauty, adornment, etc.) except before their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons and the sons of their husbands, their brothers, their brothers sons, their sisters’ sons, their female associates, and those in their possession and male attendants incapable of sexual desire, and those boys who have not yet attained knowledge of sexual matters. Also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed.

Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, in the above quoted verse of Surah Ahzaab, the All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord has specifically Commanded the believing women to cast an ‘outer-garment over their persons’. Thus even if one wears a loose fitting tunic or ‘kurta-shalwar’ and covers the head with a scarf, it is absolutely imperative that the believing woman fulfill the Command of her Lord and cast a ‘outer-garment’ like an ‘abaya’, or ‘burqa’, or a ‘chador’ over full self….that would be closer to the obedience of the Command of your Lord Most High.

Your Question: is it necessary to cover ones face too?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah An-Noor verse 31:

And O Prophet, enjoin the believing women to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their ‘zeenata hunna’ (beauty, adornment, etc.) except that which is displayed of itself , and to draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their ‘zeenata hunna’ (beauty, adornment, etc.) except before their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons and the sons of their husbands, their brothers, their brothers sons, their sisters’ sons, their female associates, and those in their possession and male attendants incapable of sexual desire, and those boys who have not yet attained knowledge of sexual matters. Also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed.

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 and the hands may be left uncovered, and the other opinion is that the face also has to be covered, and only the hands 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 and her hands, she would be following the Command of Allah; and if she chooses to cover her face, then it would be considered purest and closest to the Command of Allah Subhanah.

The difference between the covering and leaving uncovered the face of a believing woman in ‘hijaab’ is not one between right and wrong, but rather between what is best and what is good. If the believing woman covers her whole body and chooses to leave her face uncovered, it is good, acceptable and in accordance with the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah; but if she covers her whole body including her face with a ‘niqaab’, it would be best and closest to the Command of her Lord.

Your Question: should we cover our feet during prayers and while going in front of non-mehram?

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

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded and declared it obligatory for the believing women to cover herself while offering her prayers in the exact same manner she is commanded to cover herself when in the presence of non-mehram adult males.

Umm Salamah (the wife of the Prophet (saws)) narrated that she asked the Prophet (saws), "Can a woman pray in a long shirt and headcovering without a loincloth?" He (saws) replied "If the shirt is long and flowing and covers the top of her feet."

Related by Abu Dawud.

In light of the above quoted guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to his wife Umm Salama (r.a.), the prayers of a woman whose face, hands, and feet upto the ankles alone are exposed will be deemed absolutely legal and valid in Shariah.

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