Should a Woman Cover Her Feet During Prayer?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question: Assalam’aleykum
Should a woman cover her feet during prayer?
Answer: Walaikum assalam,
I pray this finds you in the best of health and spirits. This is a matter in which there is legitimate difference of opinion within mainstream Sunni scholarship.
The prevalent opinion in the Hanafi school is that the feet (below the ankles) are not from areas of the body a woman must cover (i.e. her awra)—both within the prayer and outside the prayer. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
However, in some other schools of Sunni scholarship, the feet are necessary for women to cover. Thus, it can be an expression of caution (wara`) to cover the feet—particularly for prayer. (This is not, however, obligatory.)
When advised about matters of difference of opinion, thank the person advising, but don’t feel obligated to follow the advice.
Please see: A Detailed Exposition of the Fiqh of Covering One’s Nakedness (awra)
And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani
