= prayed while her entire head was uncovered, she must repeat the prayer. Abu Hanifa said: The feet are not part of the 'awrah, because they are usually apparent, so they are like the face, and if less than a quarter of her hair, or a quarter of her thigh, or a quarter of her stomach is uncovered, her prayer is not invalidated. Malik, al-Awza'i, and al-Shafi'i said: A woman's entire body is 'awrah except for her face and hands, and what is other than that must be covered in prayer; because Ibn 'Abbas said regarding the words of the Almighty: "And not show their adornment except what is apparent of it", he said: The face and the hands. Also, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade a woman in ihram from wearing gloves and a niqab (face veil). If the face and hands were 'awrah, it would not have been forbidden to cover them. Furthermore, there is a need to uncover the face for buying and selling, and the hands for taking and giving. Some of our companions said: The entire woman is 'awrah, because it is narrated in a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "A woman is 'awrah." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: A hasan sahih hadith. However, she was granted a concession to uncover her face and hands due to the difficulty in covering them, and looking at them was permitted for the sake of engagement because it is a place of beauty. This is the opinion of Abu Bakr al-Harith ibn Hisham, who said: The entire woman is 'awrah, even her fingernail. The evidence for the obligation of covering the feet is what Umm Salama narrated: I said, O Messenger of Allah, can a woman pray in a chemise and a head covering without an izar (lower garment)? He said: "Yes, if it is long and covers the tops of her feet." Narrated by Abu Dawud, who said: A group of scholars paused it (mawquf) at Umm Salama, as did 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar. Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah will not look at one who drags his garment out of pride." Umm Salama asked: What should women do with their hems? He said: "They may let them down a span." She said: Then their feet will be uncovered. He said: "They may let them down a cubit, and no more." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: A hasan sahih hadith. This indicates the obligation to cover the feet. Also, it is a place that does not have to be uncovered during ihram, so it does not have to be uncovered in prayer, like the shins. As for what they mentioned regarding the measurement of invalidation by being more than a quarter of the limb, it is an arbitrary judgment for which there is no evidence; and one should not resort to such measurement based on mere opinion. The obligation of covering the head has been proven by the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah does not accept the prayer of a menstruating woman except with a khimar (head covering)." Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said: A hasan hadith, and by the consensus we mentioned previously. As for the hands, we have mentioned two narrations regarding them: one is that covering them is not obligatory, for the reasons we mentioned. The second is that it is obligatory, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "A woman is 'awrah." This is a general ruling except for what the evidence has specified. As for the statement of Ibn 'Abbas regarding the face and hands, Abu Hafs narrated the opposite from 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud; he said regarding "And not show their adornment except what is apparent of it": He said: The clothing. It is not mandatory to uncover the hands during ihram; rather, it is only forbidden to wear something crafted to fit them, just as it is forbidden for a man to wear trousers or anything that covers his 'awrah." The hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade a woman in ihram from wearing gloves and a niqab is reported by Abu Dawud, in: The chapter on what the muhrim wears, from the Book of Manasik. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/424. Al-Tirmidhi, in: The chapter on what has been said regarding what a muhrim is permitted to wear, from the chapters on Hajj. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 4/55. Al-Nasa'i, in: The chapter on the prohibition of a woman in ihram wearing a niqab, and the chapter on the prohibition of a woman in ihram wearing gloves, from the Book of Manasik. Al-Mujtaba 5/101, 102, 104. Imam Malik, in: The chapter on a muhrim covering his face, from the Book of Hajj. Al-Muwatta 1/328. Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/22, 32, 119. (3) From here is the narration of the original text until the end of the chapter. (4) Surah al-Nur: 31.