a four-rak‘ah prayer, Mālik held three views. Concerning someone who omits recitation in two or three rak‘ahs of a four-rak‘ah prayer, or in two rak‘ahs of a three-rak‘ah prayer, there are two views: the first is that the prayer must be repeated, which is Mālik’s view; the second is that the affected rak‘ahs should be disregarded, which is the view of Ashhab, Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam, and Asbagh. There is disagreement concerning someone who omits recitation in one rak‘ah of a two-rak‘ah prayer, such as the dawn prayer, the Friday prayer, or a traveller’s prayer. One view treats this like omitting recitation in one rak‘ah of a three- or four-rak‘ah prayer, making all three views reported from Mālik applicable. Another treats it like omitting recitation in two rak‘ahs of a four-rak‘ah prayer, allowing only two views: repeating the prayer or disregarding the affected rak‘ah. Success comes from Allah.

Section
What a Woman Must Cover During Prayer

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornment except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers” [al-Nūr: 31], to the end of the verse.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, also says:

“O Prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more likely to ensure that they are recognized and not harassed” [al-Ahzāb: 59].

Since a free woman is commanded to cover herself before men whom she is not permanently forbidden to marry, and not to display to them any adornment except what normally appears—namely, the face and hands, according to scholars of Quranic interpretation—she is likewise required to cover herself in prayer. This is a binding Sunnah that she should not neglect. The minimum clothing sufficient for her prayer is a headscarf and a full-length gown that covers the tops of her feet, as Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, told the woman who asked her what clothing a woman should wear for prayer. She may not pray in a sheer garment that reveals her body, nor in a closely woven but fine garment that clings to her and reveals her bodily contours; for if she