This indicates that there is a degree of leniency in the purification of the head.

Accordingly, if a woman has coated her head with henna, she may wipe over it; she does not need to undo her hair and scrape off the henna. Likewise, if she has fastened upon her head an ornament known as a hāmah, she may wipe over it, since if we permit wiping over the head covering, then this is even more deserving of concession.

It may be said that this has a precedent in the case of a ring: the Messenger ﷺ used to wear a ring (1), yet water may not reach the skin beneath the ring. The Sacred Law may overlook such matters, especially since the head, in principle, is not required to be purified by washing; rather, it is purified by wiping. For this reason, its purification has been made lighter through wiping.

His words, “over women’s head coverings,” indicate that this is a condition: the head covering must be worn by women.

“Wrapped beneath their throats” . . .

His words, “wrapped beneath their throats,” constitute the second condition: it must be wrapped beneath the throat, rather than being loose and hanging freely, because removing the latter is not difficult, unlike one that is wrapped in this manner.

Is a time limit stipulated for it, as it is for wiping over leather socks? There is a difference of opinion. The established position in the school is that a time limit is stipulated. Some scholars said that it is not stipulated, because it has not been authentically established that the Prophet ﷺ set a time limit for it, and because the purification of the body part over which it is worn is lighter than the purification of the foot; thus, it cannot be equated with leather socks. Therefore, if