the front and back private parts. Thus, covering the private parts is sufficient; anything beyond that is sunnah.

His statement, “for voluntary prayer”: voluntary prayer includes everything other than an obligatory prayer, such as the regular sunnah prayers connected to the prescribed prayers, the two rakʿahs of the forenoon prayer, and others.

The essential point is that, in a voluntary prayer, it is sufficient to cover the private parts.

“And [cover] one of his shoulders in an obligatory prayer” …

As for the obligatory prayer, the author said: “And [cover] one of his shoulders in an obligatory prayer.” That is, in addition to covering the private parts, one must cover one of the two shoulders in an obligatory prayer—namely, a prayer whose omission is sinful, such as the five daily prayers and the Friday prayer.

The apparent meaning of his words is that this includes obligations established in the first instance by the Sacred Law and those made obligatory by a vow. It also includes individual obligations and communal obligations, such as the funeral prayer and, according to one view, the two Eid prayers (1) …

The shoulder is the place upon the neck where the upper wrap rests: the upper wrap lies between the shoulder and the neck. Therefore, in an obligatory prayer, one must add the covering of either the right or left shoulder to the covering of the private parts. The evidence is the Prophet’s saying, peace and blessings be upon him: “None of you should pray in a single garment with nothing of it upon his shoulder” (2). Another wording states: “with nothing of it upon his two shoulders” (3), using the dual form. The dual form does not conflict with the singular, because the singular is in a possessive construction, and a possessive construction conveys generality.

This evidence is broader than the ruling inferred from it. The evidence states, “None of you should pray,” and this encompasses both obligatory and voluntary prayers. Thus, using a general proof to establish a more restricted ruling amounts to failing to apply the text fully, because when a text indicates a general ruling,