Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

Section: Clothing in Prayer

This concerns adorning oneself at every place of prayer, which the jurists discuss under the heading “Covering the ‘Awrah in Prayer.”

Some jurists have assumed that what must be covered in prayer is the same as what must be concealed from people’s gaze, namely the ‘awrah (the parts of the body that must be concealed). They derived what must be covered in prayer from Allah’s words:

“And not reveal their adornment except what is apparent of it, and let them draw their head coverings over their bosoms.”

Then He says, “And not reveal their adornment”—meaning their concealed adornment—“except to their husbands,” and so on to the end of the verse.

Accordingly, they held that a woman may reveal her outward adornment during prayer, but not her concealed adornment.

The early generations differed over outward adornment, holding two views. Ibn Mas‘ūd and those who agreed with him said that it means clothing. Ibn ‘Abbās and those who agreed with him said that it means adornment on the face and hands, such as kohl and rings.

On the basis of these two views, the jurists differed over looking at a woman who is neither one’s wife nor a permanently unmarriageable relative. One view permits looking at her face and hands without desire. This is the position of Abū Hanīfah and al-Shāfi‘ī, and one opinion within Ahmad’s school.