Uncovering of the feet/arm in salah
I never knew that your feet have to be covered in salah.
What do i do about my previous salah's?
Also sometimes I use to leave a bit of my arm/wrist uncovered :S , I now know this is wrong.
What do I do?
~Jennyalom
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Salaams,
I have never heard that your feet have to be covered for salat. I have prayed barefoot on several occassions, and have seen men and women do the same countless times. For women, your awrah for salat should be wearing pants or a dress/skirt that comes down to just past the ankles, which will allow the top of your foot and toes to be exposed. Your sleeves should also come to just past your wrists, allowing all of your hand to be exposed. Obviously, during the movements of salat our garments shift and there may be times a little more of your wrist or ankle is briefly exposed, but if you make sure it is re-covered as soon as possible it shouldn't invalidate your salat. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of times our sleeves or skirts move a quarter inch and we don't even realize it! I tend to believe that as long as our niyat is correct and we are doing everything we can to keep our awrah during salat, Allah honors it.
I knew some girls who used to go crazy when they found out if just one hair peeped out from their hijabs and would remake that salat over and over until they felt everything was completely covered for the entire duration of the prayer. Salat is not meant to make us OCD, but it is good to stay mindful of prescribed variables that have to be met for salat to be valid.
-Amy
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
salam,
its better to wear socks in salat.
The 'awrah of the woman is everything except the face and the hands, and the 'awrah must be covered in salat, as well as in public. So Jennyalom, you are correct that the feet must be covered in salat, either by a long dress, or by wearing socks. See here for more details.
(Amy, many women don't realize that the feet are part of the 'awrah and must be covered).
Don't worry about what you did in the past, as you did not know. Our actions are judged by our intentions. Ask Allah to forgive you, but do not worry about repeating those salat.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Salaams,
Thank you Wael, I would also like to add that if someone follows madhab there are some caveats as given below:
Wajib Covering During Salat:
The schools concur that it is wajib (necessary) upon both men and
women to cover those parts of their bodies during salat which should ordinarily
be kept covered before 'strangers'. Beyond that their positions differ. Is it
wajib for a woman to cover, fully or partly, her face and hands during
salat, although she is not required to do so outside salat? Is it wajib for
a man to cover other parts of his body during salat apart from the area
between the navel and the knees, though it is not wajib to do so outside
salat?
The Hanafis observe: It is wajib upon a woman to cover the back
of her hands and the soles of her feet as well...The Shafi'is and Malikis
say: It is permissible for a woman to keep her face and both the palms
and the back of her hands uncovered during salat.
The Hanbalis state: It is not permissible for her to expose any
part except the face.
For further clarification:
During prayer, according to most scholars of the Hanafi school, the apparent portions of the feet (for women) are not considered from the awrah (nudeness), hence the salah (prayer) performed while having the apparent portions of the feet not covered, would be considered valid. (Al Hidayah, I’ilaa Al Sunan)
The Shafie, Hanbali and Maliki schools include the feet of women in the awrah (nudeness). Therefore the followers of this opinion are to ensure feet are covered appropriately during prayer for it’s validity. (Kitaab Al Fiqh Ala Madhahib Al Arba'a) -from http://www.mathabah.org/20110705579/general-prayer-salah/covering-the-feet-for-women-during-prayer.html.
The Imamis observe: It is wajib for both men and women to cover only
those parts of their body during salat which they are supposed to cover
ordinarily in the presence of a 'stranger'. Hence it is permissible for a
woman to expose during salat that part of her face which is washed
during wudu'; her hands up to the wrists, and her feet up to the ankles
both the back as well as the palms of hands and the soles of feet. For
a man, it is wajib to cover the rear and the private parts, though better
to cover the entire area between the navel and the knees.
from http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter7/6.html
-Amy
IslamicAnswers.com Editor