Is the Area under the Chin from the Nakedness of a Woman?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

Until recently, I was under the impression that the area below the Chin of a woman is not ‘awra.

Occasionally I have seen some ladies covering that part of their faces and thought they are most probably being cautious.

But I heard from a “major female scholar” that this part women are supposed to cover as it is not considered part of the face which we hanafi women are allowed to show.

I have been praying, as well as making up years of my prayers for a long time now, without covering that part.

Does it mean all my prayers until now would be considered invalid, and I have to make them all up again, as well as the make up prayers that I have been doing?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I asked Mufti Mahmoud Ashraf Usmani about this last year:

He said that the scholars do not emphasize that the area under the chin is necessarily from the ‘awra that must be covered because of the difficulty of covering it (and the wide hardship in insisting on such a ruling).

However, it would seem to fall under the legal definition of ‘awra. Therefore, one should try to cover it. Many scholars emphasize it strongly.

I had asked Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah preserve him in good health and spirit) about this a few years ago.

He said that the area should be covered, but because it is small in area and little of it is generally visible from the sides, it would not invalidate the prayer if left uncovered.

And Allah knows best, and He alone gives success.

Wassalam,

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.