What must men and women cover during prayer?

The man's covering

The man's 'awrah in prayer is the area from the navel to the knee. The navel and the knee themselves are not part of the 'awrah, though a small part of what adjoins them must be covered so that the area between is fully covered. This is the position of the majority of jurists — Malik, al-Shafi'i, Abu Hanifah and Ahmad in the well-known narration from him — and Ibn Qudamah records it in al-Mughni as the sound position in the Hanbali school. A second narration from Ahmad holds the 'awrah to be only the two private parts, but the first is the one relied upon.

Shaykh Ibn Baz stated the same limit plainly: a man's 'awrah is what is between the navel and the knee, and he must cover it. He added that in prayer a man is also commanded to have something over his shoulders, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

"None of you should pray in a single garment with nothing of it over his shoulder."— Sahih al-Bukhari 359

The Hanbalis therefore made covering one of the two shoulders an obligation in the obligatory prayer, though the majority treat it as a recommended act rather than a condition.

The woman's covering

A free adult woman must cover her whole body in prayer except her face. The majority also exempt her hands; the Hanbali school's relied-upon position requires covering them. The feet are likewise disputed: the majority hold they must be covered, while Abu Hanifah and those with him held that the feet are not 'awrah in prayer.

The evidence for covering the head is the Prophet's ﷺ statement:

"Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty except with a head covering."— Sunan Ibn Majah 655, from 'A'ishah رضي الله عنها

Ibn Qudamah notes in al-Mughni that the scholars are agreed that a woman covers her head when she prays, and that if she prays with her whole head uncovered, they agree she must repeat the prayer. A girl who has not yet reached puberty is not held to this; her head is not 'awrah in the same way.

What counts as covering

Covering means the garment must be opaque enough not to describe the skin — that is, the colour of the skin must not be visible through it. Ibn 'Uthaymin explained that a thin garment which does not show the skin itself but only the outline of clothing beneath it still counts as covering; what invalidates the covering is a fabric through which the skin's colour can be seen.

The covering must also be from the top and the sides. If the 'awrah can be seen through the neck opening or the sleeve while bowing and prostrating, that harms the prayer. Being seen from below, however, does not — the Hanbalis and Shafi'is both state that covering from beneath the hem is not required, so a person praying on a raised surface whose 'awrah could be seen from below has still prayed validly.

If something becomes uncovered

A small, brief exposure that is not deliberate does not invalidate the prayer. Ibn Qudamah states in al-Mughni that if the 'awrah becomes uncovered unintentionally and is covered again immediately without a long delay, the prayer stands, because the exposure was slight. If it is uncovered deliberately, or remains exposed for a long time, the prayer is invalid. The Hanafis set a measure for this: a quarter of the limb, if exposed, prevents the prayer from being valid, while less than that does not.

Key takeaways

• A man must cover from the navel to the knee; a woman must cover her whole body except the face (and the hands, in the majority view).
• Covering the 'awrah is a condition of the prayer's validity, not merely a recommended act.
• The garment must be opaque enough that the colour of the skin is not visible through it.
• A brief, unintentional exposure does not invalidate the prayer; a deliberate or prolonged one does.
• The Hanbali school adds that a man must have something over one shoulder in the obligatory prayer.

And Allah knows best.