I’ve been wondering about the extent to which people are expected to cover their persons during prayers.
Men are recommended, out of humility, to cover their heads and their arms although there are no hard or fast rules about these.
Women on the other hand cover as they would do so if around non-mahrams (only bit of skin showing being hands, face and feet – unless according to some feet are awrah so they’d be covered too).
Why is this the case? It may wrongly be assumed with the differences in covering, particularly with the female covering being more extensive, that God is male!
(That would further provide fuel to the argument of religion being inherently patriarchial but thats another topic for another day…)
Inner Reflections Transcribed 
No answer, or even suggestion, for why this is the case … but, regarding this:
generally, a man is obligated to cover what is between his navel and his knees. In prayer, this obligation extends to covering one’s shoulders; you’ll find hadîths in Sahîh al-Bukhârî regarding this.
Thanks for that Rasheed. I know shoulders being covered is an extra measure, but generally covering the head is took to be a sign of humility which some adopt during prayer and at other times (resort to wearing a kufi)
Could it not also be that it’s a way for us to not get distracted by our clothing/ our appearance?
To make us realize that no matter how beautiful/ ugly we are, we are standing before Allah and presenting to Him not our phsyical appearance, but our hearts and souls in all their imperfection and faults…
I know that for myself, when I wear my ‘abaayah and hijab for salaah, it impacts me more than when I wear it outside – because I’m covering my beauty not out of ‘fear’ (of fitnah, etc. although fear isn’t the right word to use anyway), but as a way of realizing that my beauty counts for nothing anyway when I stand before Allah.
I searched so much for an answer, but i didnt find any logical explanation about it in Quran or Hadeeth. They say this kind of laws are Ibadiyyah. Mean ir just obligatory without asking about them. But it can not be an answer.
I just found this hadeeth:
اعبد الله کأنّک تراه فان کنت لا تراه فانه یراک
Pray God like you see him, even if you dont see him, but he see you.
It happens that they ask it bcs a woman should pray God in a formal form, so getting hijab for women and covering part of body for men, is for that. I personally think it should be like different kind of hijab between men and women. Now is that bcs of being in formal and modest dress front of God?It can just be a reason for women who are alone at the time of praying.
But about women who are praying in public or front of husband, maybe it has the role of Hijab itself. that cover a woman so that men even her husband dont get attracted and she can pray without any problem?
Is hijab during salat a kind of practising for daily hijab? Is that a sign to show that a woman should be veiled islamically? Is that a symbol for muslim women?
Or is it just a test by God so that muslims just accept it in its way?
Anyway there are many questions in my mind. But i could say it has a wisdom and i’m trying to find it. Like the way of the wudu or the way of praying Salat which has very beautiful wisdom..
A women is supposed to wear Hijab, before everyone expect her husband. Praying Namaz, is just an activity, like many others, which is done while wearing Hijab.
I myself cannot answer it, but i remember once i got the same question in my mind. But later learnt that we arent suppose to Allah’s orders or rules too … So, I Dont Know.
A women ….. Except her husband …. ……… I myself cannot …… we arent suppose to question Allah’s ….
Sorry for the mistake … 🙂
Not really Anonymouse, because if one was to be distracted by anything it’d be your feet and hands – to cover them isn’t obligatory. Or you’d be distracted by the person next to you but readng in congregation is encouraged not discouraged.
Well Shahrzad your POV was interesting, gave me food for thought. i think covering if praying outside somewhere would be one explanation but if you are praying at home then that explanation falls short.
Actually Maryam hijaab is not required amongst mahrams, which depending on how many male relatives you have would vary. So it really is a mystery why it’d be required in full during prayer after all usually within your home or personal space you are free to remove it, unless this implies that one should be in the state of hijaab mostly..?- if you don’t question, you don’t learn. Thats the approach I like to use here 🙂
I was thinking about it during day and i discussed it with Shahryar too. It helped me to get some other ideas.
woman’s code of dress in islam wants woman be fully covered in front of all who are non mahram. means she never exposes her sexual attraction to foreigners to force the world to deal with her as a person, as a mind, as a non sexual acquaintance. So this code of dress is actualy to put women in the circle of equality with men while dealing with the outer world.
It is for her own self respect. Ok so now a muslim woman is always aware about her presence, she understands her covering is a self respect act of behavior, she feels most respected when she eliminates the sexual encounter wth the outside world, her clothes become an extention to her self awareness, she relies on her covering up as a natural behavior.
same like she does about exposing her nudity to non mahrams, even so she is allowed to show partial nudity she will automaticaly cover her self if for example a “grown up” mahram enters the room and her thighs are showing, she covers her self or pulls down her skirt..I see some women even wear a scarf front of respected non mahrams, even if they dont blv in it.
Once she accepts this code of dress without questions, it becomes normal behavior of self respect. So when she prays she is most respectfully present in a state of worship under the hands of God, the least she could do is to feel secure about her posture and that she is not conscious about her body and how it looks like, she is going in a spiritual trip and her body has to be nautralised from any conscious interferances or being enjoyed by the invisible inhabibtants of the place where she prays.
For example lets assume there is a traditional social or national fashion in a society, the norm is to be dressed like so, when you go visit the president. Do u expect that you will wear a different fashion than what the norm calls for? You will not feel easy. you may as well feel same when you pray.
An other point is -based on Ahadeeth you can indirectly get it- that when we pray depending on how spiritually mature you are, angels may join in the prayer and they shy out from entering the space of unknowing muslim woman if she is not covered.
I think that hadeeth -in previous comment-, clears same points about being respectfully in the presence of God only. (Alone at home i mean)
I also think the difference comes from the point that a woman is more self-conscious about her body than a man. She appears to watch herself in the mirror and really enjoys it. So while praying it happens that she suddenly look at hands or feet and lose that concentration on prayer. About men its different, bcs he doesnt care really to watch his feet during prayer, but the least covering for men is what is between his navel and his knees which is obligatory (as Rasheed said) for the same reason as women’s covering.
Yes but there is a difference in covering yourself generally when out and about, covering during prayers and covering yourself within the state of prayer as you would do is if infront of non-mahrams. Covering yourself in a state of comfort and what would not distract you does not necessarily by default mean adopting the garb used in public spheres of your life.
The offspin argument to that argument would also be you can’t be spiritual if you aren’t covered, which we know isn;t the case. Course no1’s going to do their prayers whilst in a state of nakedness, since theres a certain level of decency to be expected but my query extends moreso to the EXTENT of cover for women in prayer, not cover itself for prayer.
The issue to do with angels – some also use the argument that angels do not enter the homes where women leave their heads uncovered. Which is why some women are in a state of hijaab 24/7; even when asleep they will be wearing a headscarf which beggars belief since hijaab is not meant to be an all-encompassing, for every breathing moment of your life but for certain social, personal and public aspects of ones life.
I also don’t believe the distraction line of argument holds much weight, since hands may be distracting but one isnt required to cover them.
Anyway, i have nothing more now to input here. I’ll read and think more about it.
About angels, it’s not about ordinary people. its completely depends how much one is “spiritually” mature while praying. So those women who cover 24/7, maybe are confused to get the meaning of it. lol
I found the following items on this topic:
*Why should women cover themselves in Prayers?
Question: When Allah is aware of all the hidden and apparent things, why it is necessary for women to cover themselves during Prayers?
Answer: There is no doubt that Allah is aware of everything and all conditions and hidden and apparent are not applicable to him. He is not a stranger to His servants. We human beings while worshipping feel that we are in the presence of God, we talk to Him, and supplicate Him. The person should wear the most appropriate clothes and it is obvious that the appropriate and perfect dress for women is that which befits their chastity and which gives the best reflection of themselves. During worship such type of clothes are best suited. For men also it is not that they could pray naked, it makes the prayer invalid and is against the spirit of worship and respect of Allah, but it is better that along with necessary clothes we should pray with clothes that show respect, for example it is not good to pray just with an undergarment. One should also wear shirt etc. over it. (Source:http://www.shiachat.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t234940333.html)
* http://www.themuslimwoman.com/chooseyourpath/basicguidetoprayer/preparingforsalah.htm
I found this one to be interesting though:
*If a person interprets the texts against headcovering in public then they have three genre of texts to deal with:
1) the three references in the Qur’an to women’s dress
2) assorted traditions that deal with women’s dress
3) interpretations from Muslims of the Qur’an and assorted traditions (eg. fiqh texts, apologetic literature etc.)
Now in regard to 1) the three references in the Qur’an do not have anything to do with prayer, rather their context is public dress. Obviously if you believe that modest dress includes wearing a headcover, then modesty in front of Allah is invoked for these verses as well. (blog: Dervish http://www.maryams.net/dervish/2005/05/31/prayer_clothes/)
I see your point Shahrzad, but much about women not wanting to expose herself amongst others is not always the same – some women may very well have their arms bare around mahrams and feel no “shame” in doing so, or the bottom half of their legs because those bits of their body they can show to mahrams. So if a woman does feel embarrassed around mahrams when in that state then that doesn’t mean she necessarily is more spiritual- she may be uncomfortable since normally infront of men she is covered and so extends the same reaction to her mahrams.
It is true and i agree with you women generally are more aware of themselves and their bodies and how they appear to others (mahram or otherwise). So usually they will keep themselves respectfully covered even infront of mahrams – they won’t wear tight clothes, or low cut tops and may even wrap themselves in a loose shawl when infront of their father, or brothers or uncles etc
So if covering in prayer is a reflection of modesty and modesty is ultimately defined at its highest point as that which one adopts when in a public sphere then I can just about see its adoption also for prayer. But this is just something we have come to accept; just as reading Quran with head covered is what we instinctively do – theres nothing really pointing towards any of this except this hadith which I found during browsing:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “The Salat of a woman, who has reached puberty, is not accepted unless she is wearing a Khimar.” (Sahih – Al-Khamsa except An-Nasaa’ee)
Anyone else come across this hadith before?
You have some women who wear “prayer clothes” – which is a white long floating cloak for salat as supposedly the clothing should be loose (which is something for salat I dont understand either). I assume this is taken from the general verses on hijaab (which are not specifically linked to dress or appearance during prayer; but are more generic guidelines on garb to be adopted in public)
Interesting question.. although it doesn’t matter much.. to me these are just “accept it and be done with it” kind of stuff.
Yes it is a very good question specially for those of us who do not wear hijab normally. I always wondered this and this made me highly suspicious.
if you can sit down to study and not get distracted (mind you a long time ago that was a commonly used argument against female literacy and education! women are not fit to be educated, their mind will stray.. etc. so on and so forth, they are too “fluffy” etc.) can’t see why you couldn’t concentrate on praying to God, and if you can’t concentrate on that then the prayer isn’t worth very much?
I have thought about this a lot too! And to take it a step further, why do people who don’t wear or believe in hijab(as in the scarf), still wear it when praying?
Exactly Saha – perhaps because they deem head covering to be required as an outward sign of humility and modesty when praying? Its an interesting line of thought indeed..
“accept it and be done with it” kind of stuff…
I disagree. There is nothing that can qualify as that kind of stuff. After all, Abraham’s community had the same attitude about idols, as did the Prophet’s community in pre-Islamic Mecca.
To me, this is exactly the kind of question that deserves historical reflection and inquiry into the contexts of traditional interpretation, even if only to understand how these conclusions came about.
Allah has legislated certain acts and rituals for us to undertake and fulfill. He has done this according to His knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes He has mentioned why He has ordained this things for us, sometimes He hasn’t. Some people want to know the reasons and wisdoms behind these things, while some don’t.
What’s wrong with “accept[ing] it and be[ing] done with it,” especially when it’s been established that such and such action or deed is obligatory for us???
Nothing wrong with accepting and being done with something, as long as we can convincingly demonstrate it as what “Allah has legislated.” History is witness to the fact that generations of human practices have become established as tradition, or even as divinely ordained rituals. I am NOT saying that this may be one of them, the issue that is being specifically raised here. Rather, I am suggesting that to readily respond to this (or any) issue by claiming that it’s one of those “accept and be done with it kind of stuff” is a kind of blind faith, and blind faith is the last thing I associate with Islam.