Is My Prayer Invalid If I Prayed with a Slightly See through Hijab?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I’m anxious because I have just noticed that the prayer hijab I always use is slightly see-through at the front, meaning you can slightly tell where the blackness of my hair begins. Before it was fully opaque, I guess the color faded due to washing it in the machine. I know the condition is that the color of the ears can’t be discerned; in my case, my whole head, including ears, was covered and could not be seen, just at the front, right above my forehead, you can slightly see a dark undertone.
Does this mean all my past prayers were invalid, and I have to repeat them? Even if I was ignorant of when precisely the color started to fade & when the dark undertone was visible?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
You had covered your head with a prayer hijab, which is sufficient for your prayer to be valid. You have just a doubt about the opaqueness and faded color. Rest assured, in your case, all your prayers are valid, and you do not have to repeat any prayer, as certainty does not remove doubt.
The nakedness (awra) of a free woman is her whole body, including her descending hair according to the correct opinion, except the face, hand, and feet.”
The nakedness (awra) must be concealed before entering into prayer and must remain concealed until the end. If a quarter of an organ that requires covering is exposed before initiating prayer, then prayer will not be valid from the outset. If, however, a quarter of the organ which is included in the nakedness (awra) becomes exposed during prayer, then, if this remains for the duration of reciting Subhan Allah three times, prayer will become invalid; otherwise, it will be valid. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
I have just mentioned, for your knowledge, the issue if one’s nakedness (awra) is exposed before or during prayer, what the ruling will be.
Kindly check these links:
awra Archives – Page 3 of 6 – SeekersGuidance
Prayer Reader: The Ultimate Guide To Prayer in Islam – SeekersGuidance
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on Seekersguidance.
SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
