Is the Fast of a Woman Not Wearing the Hijab (Veil) Valid? (Shafi’i)

Answered by Shaykh Jamir Meah

Question: Assalamu alaykum

Is the fast of a woman not wearing the hijab (veil) valid?

Answer: Wa’alaykum assalam. Thank you for your question.

The legal validity of fasting isn’t conditioned on wearing the hijab, so one’s fast would be valid if one didn’t observe hijab during it.

For fasting to be accepted by God, one should try one’s utmost to observe all the general inward and outward obligations of the religion, as these make the act of fasting complete and more likely to be accepted.

Inward obligations mean staying away from backbiting, lying, anger and other such traits during fasts. Outward obligations mean praying the five compulsory prayers, lowering one’s gaze, and observing hijab. As mentioned, these are not conditions for the validity of fasting but complete the fast as an act of worship.

Specifically, Ramadan is a perfect time to renew our intentions and relationship with Allah. Many women who don’t usually wear the hijab do so in Ramadan out of reverence for the holy month. It is a good time to reflect on our faith and to continue with those things we observed in Ramadan throughout the rest of the year until they become habit.

May Allah increase you in every good and closeness to Him.

Warmest salams,
[Shaykh] Jamir Meah

Shaykh Jamir Meah grew up in Hampstead, London. In 2007, he traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he spent nine years studying the Islamic sciences on a one-to-one basis under the foremost scholars of the Ribaat, Tarim, with a main specialization and focus on Shafi’i fiqh. In early 2016, he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continues advanced studies in a range of Islamic sciences, as well as teaching. Jamir is a qualified homeopath.