❖ Source:
This fatwa is extracted from the book “500 Questions & Answers for Women”, based on the verdicts of the Scholars of the Ḥaramayn, translated by Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbdullāh Salīm.
✿ Question:
What is the ruling regarding ḥijāb for minor girls? Can they leave the house uncovered? And is it permissible for them to perform prayer without a head covering?
✿ Answer:
It is obligatory upon the guardians of minor girls to teach them Islamic etiquettes. They must not allow the girls to leave the house uncovered, in order to cultivate them upon noble character and to prevent the fear of fitnah. This is so they do not become a cause of temptation and corruption.
Similarly, guardians should instruct them to wear a head covering (khimār) while praying. However, if a minor girl performs prayer without a head covering, her prayer is still valid.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«لَا يَقْبَلُ اللهُ صَلَاةَ حَائِضٍ إِلَّا بِخِمَارٍ»
“Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she is wearing a head covering.”
[Abū Dāwūd: 641, Ibn Mājah: 655]
This narration applies to adult women, and by contrast, it implies that a minor girl’s prayer is valid even if she is not wearing a head covering, though it remains advisable to train her from a young age to observe proper Islamic decorum.
[Fatāwā Dār al-Iftāʾ Committee]