Ruling on Praying with Uncovered Head in Salah
This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai (رحمه الله)’s book Hadiyyat al-Muslimeen: Important Issues of Salah with the Complete Prophetic Prayer (ﷺ).
Method of Dress in Salah
«عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يصلي أحدكم فى الثوب الواحد ليس على عاتقيه شيء»
Narration: Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“None of you should pray in a single garment without anything covering his shoulders.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1/52, ḥadīth 359; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/198, ḥadīth 516]
✦ فوائد (Benefits)
① This ḥadīth proves that covering the shoulders in prayer is obligatory.
② Some people consider covering the head for men in prayer to be compulsory, but there is no evidence in the Sharīʿah for this.
③ In Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, ḥadīth no. 32, there is a narration: يكثر القناع — “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would often cover his head.”
This report is weak due to Yazīd ibn Abān al-Raqāshī.
For criticism of Yazīd, see Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (entry 498) and Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb (no. 7683), where it is stated: “Ascetic but weak.”
④ The authoritative Deobandi and Barelvi fiqh book al-Durr al-Mukhtār states:
“If a person prays bareheaded with the intention of humility before Allah, it is permissible.”
[al-Durr al-Mukhtār maʿa Radd al-Muḥtār, 1/474]
Deobandi fatwā example:
Q: A book states that whoever prays bareheaded with the intention of presenting himself humbly before Allah, there is no harm.
A: This is also written in the fiqh books — that praying bareheaded with the stated intention is not disliked.
[Fatāwā Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband, vol. 4, p. 94]
Barelvi example:
Aḥmad Raḍā Khān al-Barelwī wrote:
“If one prays bareheaded with the intention of humility, there is no harm.”
[Aḥkām al-Sharīʿah, Part 1, p. 130]
⑤ In some mosques, excessive emphasis is placed on covering the head during prayer, so they keep straw caps available. Such caps should not be worn because they are against dignity and respect.
If a sensible person would not wear such a cap to a dignified gathering, then it is more appropriate to wear respectable clothing when standing before Allah.
⑥ If covering the head is a Sunnah and prayer without it is deficient, then keeping a beard is even more important — rather, it is obligatory.
Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ever pray without a beard? Certainly not.
May Allah grant us correct understanding of the religion and the ability to follow the Sunnah.
Note: According to the author’s research, a man’s prayer with an uncovered head is valid when needed, but it is better and more virtuous to have a cap, turban, or scarf on the head during prayer.
