that stood near the house of Kathir ibn al-Salt. There he led the prayer, then delivered the sermon; after that he went over to the women while Bilal was with him. He admonished them, reminded them of Allah, and commanded them to give charity. I saw them stretching out their hands, dropping what they had into Bilal’s cloak, and then the Prophet and Bilal returned to his house.
Al-Bukhari recorded this report, and through his route it was transmitted by Ibn Ḥazm and Abu Dawud. Al-Bayhaqi and al-Nasaʾi also narrated it through Sufyan al-Thawri, who said: “ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn ʿAbis related it to me from him.”
Ibn Ḥazm cited no other narration in this chapter and remarked:
“Here we have Ibn ʿAbbas, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, observing the women’s hands. It is therefore established that a woman’s hand and face are not ʿawrah, whereas everything else she is obliged to cover.”
- If a woman prays without a khimar that covers her head, her prayer is not accepted, for the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah does not accept the prayer of a menstruating woman unless she is wearing a khimar.”
This hadith is authentic. It was recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim, al-Bayhaqi, and Ahmad from Hammad ibn Salamah, and by Ibn Ḥazm in al-Muḥalla through Hammad ibn Zayd; both chains go back to Qatadah, from Ibn Sirin, from Safiyyah bint al-Harith, from ʿAʾishah and are traced to the Prophet ﷺ. Al-Tirmidhi said: “A hasan hadith,” while al-Hakim declared it “sound according to the conditions of Muslim,” a verdict endorsed by al-Dhahabi—and their assessment is correct.