Part 4

Ibn Masoud, may Allah be pleased with him, said that outward ornaments are clothes. However, he did not say that the entire body of the woman is considered private parts, right down to her nails. This is rather the opinion of Ahmad. So, this is a must for the validity of prayer. Scholars call this (The chapter on covering the private parts). This is not to quote the Prophet. Likewise, neither the Quran nor the tradition of the Prophet refer to the fact that what we cover in prayer is considered private parts. Allah, the Almighty, says, " O the children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer". (Al A'raf: 31) The Prophet forbade man to walk around his house naked, which, of necessity, applies to prayer.

Does a woman have to cover her hands in prayer?

Ordering women to cover their hands in prayer is farfetched. When a woman kneels down in prostration, she kneels down with her face and her hands as well. In the days when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, lived, women used to wear garments. They used to work in their garments. Thus, a women would show her hands when grinding seeds, kneading bread and baking it. Had covering the hands been a must in prayer, the Prophet would have stated so. The same thing applies to the feet.

However, a woman is only ordered to wear a veil together with the garment. Hence, women used to pray in their garments and veils. As for the garment that the woman used to let down, she asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about it and he said, "A hand span." They asked, "What if it leaves their legs uncovered?" He said, "Then the length of a forearm and let them not increase it."

The Prophet was also asked about the woman who drags her garment behind her over dirty places, he said, "What follows purifies it." Yet, a woman does not wear such dragging shifts at home. Likewise, women later began to wear slippers to cover their legs when they went out, yet they never wore them at home. That's why they asked, “What if it leaves their legs uncovered?" Hence, the purpose was to cover the leg, because if the garments were ankle-high, the leg could be seen while walking.

It has also been narrated that the Prophet said that if the woman had no appropriate garment to wear, she is to stay home. Muslim women used to pray at home, yet the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Do not stop Allah's women slaves from going to Allah's mosques yet it is better for them to pray at home." However, the woman was not ordered to cover her feet with slippers or with socks. Nor was she ordered to cover her hands with gloves or anything of the sort. This, in turn, proves that neither her feet nor her hands are to be covered in prayer unless there are strange men around.

Therefore, a woman is only ordered to wear a veil when praying. Similarly, when a man prays ina loose shift, he is ordered to cover his private parts and shoulders. A man's shoulders are considered equivalent to woman's head, as a man prays in a shift or the like. When in a state of sanctity (Jhram), a man is not to wear a shift, and a woman is not to cover her face or wear gloves either. Similarly, a man is not to cover his head.

Scholars belonging to Imam Ahmad's school differed concerning a woman's face. Some said, it is to be treated like a man's head and so is not to be covered. Others maintained, a woman's face is equivalent to a man's hands and so must not be covered with special face veils that were tailored to its size, which is the opinion believed to be most valid, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, only forbade women to wear gloves and face veils.

Women used to hang down on their faces pieces of cloth to cover them from men, without actually clothing the face since her face is equivalent to her hands and to a man's hands. As previously mentioned, the entire body of a woman is considered private parts. Thus, she is allowed to

cover her hands and face, but not using especially tailored close-fitting clothes. Likewise, a man is not to wear trousers but is to wear a loincloth.

The uncovering of a woman's hair during prayer

Q: Would woman's prayer be invalidated if some of her hair was uncovered during prayer?

A: If only a small portion of her hair or her body was uncovered, she does not have to repeat the prayer, according to the majority of scholars, namely Abu Haneifa and Ahmad. Yet, if much of her body or her hair was uncovered, she is to repeat the prayer, according to all scholars, the four Imams and others.

A woman praying with the surface of her foot uncovered

Q: Is a woman allowed to perform prayer with the surface of her foot uncovered?

A: This issue is debatable among scholars. Abu Haneifa maintains that she can, though others believe otherwise.

Sewing silk for men and women and getting paid for it.

Q: What about pure silk: Is a tailor allowed to sew it tor men? Will the money he will be paid for the job be unlawful? Will he be condemned for it? Are clothes not made of silk but decorated with it allowed to be sold? Is silk allowed to be sewn for women?

A: It is unlawful to sew silk into unlawful outfits such as pure silk outfits for men when it is not war time, and not for purposes of remedy. This would be regarded as taking part in sinning, which is similar to manufacturing gold and silver utensils, according to the most valid opinion among the majority of scholars.

This also applies to whatever involves photography, resulting in its being unlawful to use. Again this applies to the making of wine. Money paid in return for unlawful doings are equally unlawful. However, sewing silk for whomever are allowed to wear silk, such as women, is lawful, even if a tailor touches it during sewing. Similarly, this applies to molding gold and silver into whatever is lawful to use.

Silk may be used in decorating men's clothes. Likewise.

according to the Prophetic tradition, it is allowed to edge outfits with silk stripes that are only five or six centimeters in width at most and the Prophet, peace be upon him, had a jubbah edged with silk.

Q: Are women allowed to wear kaffiehs? What are the criteria relied on in judging women's imitating men's wear? Should the criteria be based on the norms of the Prophet's days or are they to vary according to varying ages?

A: Kaffiehs which do not cover the hair that is hanging down loose are among men's wear. So for women to wear them is to imitate men. Dressing this way may have been pioneered by women who meant to imitate men. A slave women may wear her hair in a_ single braid that hangs down between her shoulders, letting down locks of hair on both sides of her head, then wears a head turban in order to look like men. Though some free women may follow suit, they, in doing so, wrongfully imitate men.

Authentic books tell in detail how the Prophet has cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. He was also narrated to have said, "Effeminate men are cursed, and so are women who imitate men." The Prophet also ordered effeminate men to be banished. Ashafei', Ahmad and others asserted that they are to

banished, maintaining that according to the Prophetic tradition, banishment is the punishment for adultery and effeminacy.

According to Sahih Muslim, he said, "I have not yet come across two categories of Muslims who will be tortured in Hellfire: women who are dressed yet naked, and who walk and strut with a swinging gait, they shall not be admitted into heaven, nor will they ever come close to it, and men who walk around with whips that look like tails of cows wherewith they lash Allah's servants.

He (may peace be upon hime) was narrated to have passed by Om Salamah's and saw her tying a band around her head, so he said, "O Om Salamah, tie it only once not twice". He explained "women who are dressed yet naked" as women who wear garments that do not cover their bodies. They are hence dressed, yet still naked. Or women who wear transparent clothes that show their bodies or tight outfits that display the curves of their bodies like their bottoms, their arms and the sort. Women are supposed to wear loose gowns that cover their bodies and do not display the size of their organs.

The criteria of imitating the other sex

Hence appears the criteria based on which the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade men to imitate women and

women to imitate men. This has nothing to do with what men or women choose to wear or their habits of dressing, because had this been the case, it would have been acceptable to have a nation where men were accustomed to wearing veils that cover their heads, faces and necks and gowns that would hang down loosely from their heads downwards displaying only the eyes and where women were in the habit of wearing turbans and tight manly coats and the like. However, this runs contrary to the Quran, the Prophet's sayings and the unanimously agreed upon opinion.

Allah, exalted be He, says, addressing women, "that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands"

He also says, "Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (and such) and not molested." Also "and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former times of Ignorance:"

Had the difference between men and women's wear been based on their habits and tastes, it would not have been a must for them to cast their outer garments over their persons, nor to draw their veils over their bosoms, nor would it have been forbidden to “make a dazzling display, like that of the former times of Ignorance" since those were the habits of people then.