Is Covering One’s Head during the Prayer Because of Someone Else’s Suggestion Sinful?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If someone is sitting in a mosque with his head uncovered, and another guy gives him a cap to wear before salah. Should he wear the skull cap or not? And if he wore it and prayed, was it a bid‘a?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, when your head is uncovered, you should not hesitate to wear a cap kindly provided by a brother. This will enable you to fulfill the sunna of praying with your head covered while filling the heart of the helping brother with joy upon accepting his help. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

It is disliked to pray with one’s head uncovered out of laziness. [Tumurtashi, Tanwir al-Absar]

It is established that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon Him) would pray with their heads covered. In his Sahih, Imam Al-Bukhari, may Allah be pleased with him, mentions a statement from Hassan al-Bassri, may Allah be pleased with him, to this effect. [Bukhari]

Ostentation (Rya)

Allah, Most High, says: “They were only commanded to worship Allah ˹alone˺ with sincere devotion to Him in all uprightness” [98:5]

Ostentation is seeking status in people’s hearts through an act of worship that should be devoted to Allah alone. This is one of the sicknesses of the Heart that should be dealt with as best as one can. [Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din]

In his Ihya, Imam al-Ghazali, may Allah be pleased with him, is explicit in saying that it is a mistake to leave an act of adoration out of fear of falling into ostentation. In fact, doing so is following the devil and leaving the way of the believers.

Instead, you should complete your acts of worship and strive within your performance for sincerity. [Ibid]

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.