Ruling on Men Wearing Thin Dhotī or Lungī and Women Wearing Thin Dupattā During Prayer

Question

Many people perform prayer wearing very thin dhotī such that the body shows through. Is the prayer of such people valid or not?
And if women wear a thin dupattā through which the hair is visible, will their prayer be valid or not?

Answer

For a man, covering from the navel to the knee is obligatory۔
Therefore, if one performs prayer wearing such a thin dhotī or lungī through which the color of the body is visible, then the prayer is not valid at all۔

And some people wear under-shorts beneath the dhotī or lungī — this covers part of the thigh, but the entire knee and part of the thigh still show through the thin fabric; in this case too the prayer is not valid, because covering the knee is also obligatory۔

الرکبة من العورۃ

“The knee is part of the ‘awrah.”

(Dār Quṭnī, 889)

• Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī, Vol. 1 — Egypt print — p. 54:

العورۃ للرجل من تحت السرۃ حتی تجاوز رکبتیه فسرته لیست بعورۃ عند علمائنا الثلاثة ورکبته عورۃ عند علمائنا جمیعا ھٰکذا فی المحیط۔

Translation: The ‘awrah of a man is from below the navel to below the knee. The navel is not ‘awrah according to our three scholars, but the knee is ‘awrah according to all.

A few lines later on the same page:

الثوب الرقیق الذی یصف ماتحته لاتجوز الصلاۃ فیه کذا فی التبیین۔

Meaning: A thin garment that reveals what is beneath it — prayer is not permissible in it.

A woman’s prayer is not valid if she covers herself with such a thin dupattā that the color of her hair is visible, because covering the hair is obligatory for women.
In fact, apart from the face, hands, and soles of the feet, covering the entire body is necessary.

• Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī, Vol. 1 — Egypt print — p. 54:

بدن الحرۃ عورۃ الا وجھھا وکفیھا وقد میھا کذا فی المتون۔ وشعر المرأۃ ما علی راسھا عورۃ واما المسترسل ففیه روایتان الاصح انه عورۃ کذا فی الخلاصة وھو الصحیح وبه اخذ الفقیه ابو اللیث وعلیه الفتویٰ کذا فی معراج الدرایة۔

• Bahar-e-Shariat, Part 3, p. 43 states:

If a woman uses such a thin dupattā that the blackness of the hair shows, the prayer is not valid until she wears something that conceals the hair.

وھو سبحانه وتعالٰی اعلم

Reference: Fatāwā Faiz al-Rasūl, Vol. 1, p. 234