Ḥijāb al-Marʾah wa-Libāsuhā fī al-Ṣalāh - Ibn Taimiya - (25)

a single garment that leaves none of it upon his shoulders.1 This ruling concerns the prayer alone; outside the prayer a man may keep his shoulders exposed in the presence of other men.

In the same way, a free woman must cover her head with a khimar during the prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she is wearing a khimar.”3
She is not required to cover her head in front of her husband or her male maḥrams, for she may show her concealed adornment to them. However, during the prayer she may not uncover her head before them or before anyone else.

The opposite applies to the face, hands, and feet: according to the sounder of the two opinions, she may not display these to unrelated men, unlike the situation before the ruling was abrogated; she is only to show her outer garments.

As for covering these parts during the prayer, that is not obligatory by the consensus of the Muslims. By unanimous agreement she may leave her face uncovered, even though it is part of the concealed adornment. The same holds for the hands: the majority of scholars—such as Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and others—and one of the two reports from Aḥmad allow them to be exposed during the prayer. The same ruling applies to the feet.

1. Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim; also documented in *Sahih Abi Dawud*, no. 637, and *Irwa al-Ghalil*, no. 275. 2. I say: There is no evidence for restricting the requirement of *ikhtimar* (covering the head) to free women. Rather, the general wording of the following hadith contradicts this restriction. See the preceding note. 3. Authentic; narrated by Abu Dawud and others, and documented in *Irwa al-Ghalil*, no. 196.

الثوب الواحد ليس على عاتقه منه شيء١ فهذا لحق الصلاة ويجوز له كشف منكبيه للرجال خارج الصلاة, وكذلك المرأة الحرة٢ تختمر في الصلاة كما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: " لا يقبل الله صلاة حائض إلا بخمار" ٣ وهي لا تختمر عند زوجها ولا عند ذوي محارمها فقد جاز لها إبداء الزينة الباطنة لهؤلاء ولا يجوز لها في الصلاة أن تكشف رأسها لهؤلاء ولا لغيرهم. وعكس ذلك: الوجه واليدان والقدمان ليس لها أن تبدي ذلك للأجانب على أصح القولين بخلاف ما كان قبل النسخ بل لا تبدي إلا الثياب. وأما ستر ذلك في الصلاة فلا يجب باتفاق المسلمين بل يجوز لها كشف الوجه بالإجماع وإن كان من الزينة الباطنة وكذلك اليدان يجوز إبداؤهما في الصلاة عند جمهور العلماء كأبي حنيفة والشافعي وغيرهما وهو إحدى الروايتين عن أحمد وكذلك القدم

١ متفق عليه وهو مخرج في "صحيح أبي داود" "٦٣٧" و "إرواء الغليل" "٢٧٥" ٢ قلت: تخصيص الاختمار بالحرة لا دليل عليه بل عموم الحديث الآتي ينافيه وانظر التعليق السابق. ٣ صحيح أخرجه أبو داود وغيره وهو مخرج في "إرواء الغليل" "١٩٦".