Must I Repeat the Prayers I Performed Wearing a See-Through Scarf?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Must I repeat the prayers I performed wearing a see-through scarf?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

If the scarf is so thin that the skin color of the ears can be easily discerned, the prayer is invalid. This is because exposing one-fourth of any limbs that are incumbent to cover (in this case, the ear) invalidates the prayer. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Rules of Exposing Nakedness (‘Awra)

The Sacred Law outlines for us what is considered nakedness and what is not. A woman must cover her entire body in the prayer except for her face, hands, and feet. [Ibid.]

The limits of the face allowed to be exposed in prayer are the same as those in the wudu. Thus, the ears are not considered from the face and must be covered. It must cover the area such that the area cannot be seen. [Ibid.]

If one-fourth was exposed when commencing the prayer, the prayer is not considered to have begun. [Ibid.]

If the exposure occurred during the prayer, unintentionally, and lasted for the amount of time it takes to say SubhanAllah thrice, the prayer is invalid. [Ibid.]

If intentional, the prayer is invalid, regardless of the amount of time. [Ibid.]

Making Up Prayers

Only makeup prayers that you are certain your ears were exposed (either entirely or such that the skin color can be seen through the scarf). If you doubt whether or not the skin could have been seen, do not repeat that prayer. Lastly, estimate the number of prayers you are certain were invalid and make them up, little by little, every day.

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then 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 stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest 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 Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.

Arabic References:

(قَوْلُهُ لَا يَصِفُ مَا تَحْتَهُ) بِأَنْ لَا يُرَى مِنْهُ لَوْنُ الْبَشَرَةِ احْتِرَازًا عَنْ الرَّقِيقِ وَنَحْوِ الزُّجَاجِ (قَوْلُهُ وَلَا يَضُرُّ الْتِصَاقُهُ) أَيْ بِالْأَلْيَةِ مَثَلًا، وَقَوْلُهُ وَتَشَكُّلُهُ مِنْ عَطْفِ الْمُسَبَّبِ عَلَى السَّبَبِ. وَعِبَارَةُ شَرْحِ الْمُنْيَةِ: أَمَّا لَوْ كَانَ غَلِيظًا لَا يُرَى مِنْهُ لَوْنُ الْبَشَرَةِ إلَّا أَنَّهُ الْتَصَقَ بِالْعُضْوِ وَتَشَكَّلَ بِشَكْلِهِ فَصَارَ شَكْلُ الْعُضْوِ مَرْئِيًّا فَيَنْبَغِي أَنْ لَا يَمْنَعَ جَوَازَ الصَّلَاةِ لِحُصُولِ السَّتْرِ. اهـ. قَالَ ط: وَانْظُرْ هَلْ يَحْرُمُ النَّظَرُ إلَى ذَلِكَ الْمُتَشَكِّلِ مُطْلَقًا أَوْ حَيْثُ وُجِدَتْ الشَّهْوَةُ؟ . اهـ. قُلْت: سَنَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فِي كِتَابِ الْحَظْرِ، وَاَلَّذِي يَظْهَرُ مِنْ كَلَامِهِمْ هُنَاكَ هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ

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