She
Cannot Take Off Her Hijab When Doing Wudoo’ At Work;
Should She Wipe Over?
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
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I work in a company and it is difficult to do wudoo’
for prayer (i.e., to take off the hijab in order to
wipe my hair and ears).
My question is:
Is it better to wipe over the hijab and wipe the
ears as much as possible only? Or should I combine
Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers at home?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It seems that it is difficult for you to take off your
hijab because of the presence of non-mahram men in
your workplace. If that is the case, then you should
note that mixing of women with non-mahram men leads to
many negative consequences, such as being alone with
or looking at a member of the opposite sex, speaking
softly, temptation, and other things that are no
secret to people of insight. Please see question no.
1200 for evidence that free mixing is haraam.
Secondly:
If a woman is faced with this problem and the time for
prayer comes whilst she is at work, and she cannot
delay it until she goes back home, then she should
pray in the most concealed place in her workplace,
covering her hands, face and all of her body in front
of non-mahram men. We have already stated this in the
answer to question no. 39178 .
Thirdly:
Your saying that it is difficult to take off your
hijab in order to wipe your hair and ears when doing
wudoo’ makes us wonder: how do you wash your arms and
feet in the presence of men?
You must be aware that the arms and feet are part of
the ‘awrah which must be concealed from non-mahram
men. As for the face and hands, there is some
difference of scholarly opinion, but the most correct
view is that they must also be covered. See question
no. 11774.
Fourthly:
It is permissible for a woman to wipe over her khimar
(head cover) in the case of necessity, such as when it
is very cold, or it is difficult to take off her hijab
and put it back on.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him)
was asked: It is permissible for a woman to wipe over
her khimaar?
He replied:
The well known view in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad is
that she may wipe over her khimaar if it goes under
her chin, because it was narrated that some of the
womenfolk of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with
them) did that.
Whatever the case, if there is some difficulty, either
because the weather is cold or because it is difficult
to take it off and put it on again, then there is
nothing wrong with wiping in such cases, otherwise it
is better not to do that. End quote.
Fataawa al-Tahaarah, p. 171
It says in Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (1/60): It is
also valid for a woman to wipe over a khimaar that
goes under the chin, because Umm Salamah used to wipe
over her khimaar, as was mentioned by Ibn al-Mundhir.
End quote.
So long as the khimaar covers the ears, it is
sufficient to wipe over the khimaar and there is no
need to put the hands under the khimaar to wipe them.
Similarly, if a man is wearing a turban, he does not
have to wipe his ear too, even if they are not
covered; rather that is mustahabb only.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: It is also Sunnah to wipe whatever part of the
head is uncovered, such as the forelock, the sides of
the head and the ears.
Fataawa al-Tahaarah, p. 170
Fifthly:
A Muslim woman must strive to fear Allaah and obey His
commands, and avoid that which He has forbidden, and
keep away from working in mixed environments, which
may earn her the wrath of Allaah. She should beware of
giving this world precedence over the Hereafter, for
it is transient pleasures, but what is with Allaah
will never fade away. It is narrated in a saheeh
report that our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “Whoever gives up a thing for the
sake of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with
something better than it.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Hijaab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, p. 49.
We ask Allaah to help you to do that that which is
best for you in this world and in the Hereafter.
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