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Is it permissible for a woman to suffice with socks in prayer if her jilbab does not cover the feet, knowing that the socks might describe the foot? And is her prayer valid if she places something under her legs to cover them, resulting in her legs not touching the ground directly during prostration? What is the ruling on a woman praying in a shoulder abaya that reveals the shoulder? And does covering it with something thick make it permissible? And what is the response to the saying that it is permissible to suffice with socks in prayer by analogy with the permissibility of gloves that describe the size of the hand?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

We are not aware of any fatwa that prohibits a woman from covering her feet with socks in front of a non-mahram on the grounds that they describe the foot. Rather, we issue a fatwa that it is not permissible to wear transparent socks that describe the foot in the presence of a non-mahram, while thick, opaque socks are permissible. It is not necessary for the leg to be directly touching the ground during prostration; what is important is prostrating on the feet. Prayer is disliked in an abaya that describes the size of the shoulder, and this dislike is removed by wearing another garment over it that conceals the outline of the limb.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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