Can Woman Pray Whilst Wearing a Mask That Covers the Face?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it valid in the Hanafi school for a woman to pray whilst wearing a mask that covers the face?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is valid for a woman to pray while wearing something that covers her face.

However, if when prostrating, the mask comes between her forehead and the ground it is somewhat disliked if done without an excuse. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

If the mask does not cover the forehead it is not disliked. [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.