THE PRAYER SECTION · 85 – A WOMAN PRAYING WITHOUT A HEADSCARF:
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said, “Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached the age of menstruation unless she wears a head covering.” [415]
Muḥammad ibn Shīrīn, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, visited Umm Talha al-Talahat.
Safiyya mentioned [her daughters], and she said: “One day the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to me while a female slave was present in my chamber. He threw his shirt to me, and said, ‘Divide this into two; give one half to her, and the other half to the young girl with Umm Salama.’ For I only see them during their menstrual period, or I only see both of them during their menstrual period.”
Abu Dawud said: Hisham narrated this hadith from Ibn Shīrīn in this manner.
EXPLANATION:
Ḥiqw: This is what they call the place where a cloth is tied. The Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him, seeing that the young girls had reached the age when their menstrual cycles began, commanded them to cover their heads during prayer by dividing his shirt into two; giving one half to one of them and the other half to the other.