Why are women required to wear hijab during prayer?

Is God a man? Why do were treat Him as a man or worse?

Today I was at home wearing short pants that reveal my ankles. In the past I used to wear a long skirt over the pants before praying (since God doesn't want to see my ankles). I would also wear a jacket or blouse to cover up any flesh that God doesn't like to see. Sometimes I would be worried that my back would show when I make ruku' or sujud. This would make me preoccupied and distract me from concentrating on my prayer (since it would be very embarrassing if God saw my back.)

I would sometimes wind up looking clumsy with clothes that are not matching in colors or style and unnecessary layers that make me look like a clown. I would never wear the clothes that I pray with in public because I would be worried about what people might think. But I know that God doesn't mind me wear that. He just doesn't want to see any flesh. That's all he asks for.

I have recently begun to think of the impact of requiring women to wear hijab during prayer on our perception of God. We say "Allahu Akbar" before and after each movement we make while praying which means that we have to expand our perception of His Omniscience and Omnipresence. Yet, we act as if God as a man who is looking at us at that particular time and place.

Why is it necessary for women to wear hijab during prayer? There is no Quranic description of how women should dress during prayer. As far as I know there is just one hadith.

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: "لا يَقْبَلُ اللَّهُ صَلاةَ حَائِضٍ إِلاَّ بِخِمَارٍ".
رَوَاهُ الخَمْسَةُ إلاَّ النَّسَائِيَّ، وَصَحَّحَهُ ابْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ.

أي أن المرأة لا تقبل صلاتها إلا بخمار يستر رأسها، والمراد بالحائض المكلفة التي بلغت.

Translation: An adult woman's prayer is not accepted by God unless she is covering her head.

Why are we basing it on one hadith? How strong is this hadith?

What is the purpose if there is no other strong evidence?

Is meant to show respect?

If that is the purpose, it seem we are actually showing more respect to other people than to God. We can dress clumsy in front of Him but not clumsy in front of them. We can reveal flesh in front of them, but not in front of Him. And it seems we only meet Him when we are praying, that's why we only dress conservatively then.

Didn't God create every bit of me including my private parts? Doesn't He know my every thought? Isn't it disrespectful to behave as if He only sees me when I pray?

Modesty and Prudery?

Many Muslim scholars say the purpose is to induce the feeling of modesty and prudery. Dressing modestly while praying makes you feel modest. You do it for yourself to create a psychology of piety.

That can be true. You really do feel more modest and pious when you are all dressed up from head to two, but only in a sexual sense. So is this all about suppressing sexuality?

I guess another benefit (from their perspective) to wearing hijab during prayer is that it trains a woman how to behave in the presence of men (or God—I guess they view Him as a man). That is, she must be conscious about displaying any behavior that might have a sexual interpretation.

Prudery in prayer positions

This extends not only to clothing but also to how she performs the prayer movements.

Men are advised to expand their chests while praying because that is a sign of masculinity and strength. Men should place their hands below the navel (note: there are variations but the demeanor differences are more or less the same). Women on the other hand are told to cover their breasts with their hands because they are a sexual symbol that should be suppressed in front of men (or God).

Men raise their hands to their ears for Takbeer. Women should do takbeer in a more reserved and prude manner by raising their hands only up to their shoulders, while keeping their arms close to their body.

During sujud a man should have some distance between his stomach, thighs, arms and the side of his body, while the woman should be positioned in such a way that all her body parts are close together.

Men should keep their feet wide apart while standing, women should keep them together.

Please note that there is nothing in the Quran that describes that a woman should pray differently than men, nor how she should dress. I am not sure if there are hadiths and how strong they are, but I suspect that all of this could be dictated by men who thought this would be appropriate because of their time, environment and frame of reference. This is not to blame them, for this was the understanding, knowledge and awareness that was available to them (ذلك مبلغهم من العلم). It is good to honor our forefathers for they have left us with a great legacy that had tremendous positive contributions on us and even on human thought. However, I propose rethinking prayer dress and positions in accordance with the understanding, knowledge and awareness that we have now.

Why should sexuality be suppressed during prayer?

Religion conservatives (Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other faiths) often view sex as a primary sin and even the root of all evil. Perhaps that is why we are asked to go through all of the above during prayer.

But why is this so? Why are sexuality and spirituality at odds?

However, not in all religions have that attitude. The Hindu religion marries sex and spirituality. Buddhism requires a very skillful approach to sex but there too certain practices merge the spiritual and sexual---but not in a promiscuous fashion by any means.

It is interesting that many Sufi orders embrace sexuality and consider it a way of knowing God.

Wearing hijab during prayer might be a way of shunning your sexuality during the process in order to promote discipline.

So why do we have to make sexual repression part of the prayer ritual? Why can't we just embrace sex as a beautiful part of our nature? That doesn't mean that we go out having sex promiscuously.

Can we embrace our sexuality and link it to spirituality without becoming promiscuous?

Hindu cultures are quite conservative sexually even though Hinduism has a more embracing attitude toward sexuality and even links it to spirituality.

Sex: a gateway sin?

Or could sex be a gateway to other sins? Does sexual liberation cause you to be less moral in other aspects such as honesty, integrity, benevolence, etc.? Or could sex be a gateway to other sins?

Perhaps the only reason you would feel bad about thinking about sex is that you think it is bad or because someone told you it's bad, and since you are already bad, you might as well go bad all the way.

Just like marijuana is a gateway to other drugs. Since it is illegal and you know it is illegal, you say to yourself why don't I do another illegal thing.

All sin leads to more sin. But if you believed that it is OK to fantasize about others without actually having sex with them and you are comfortable with that, then it shouldn't lead to more serious sins such as stealing, lying, and hurting others. Sex actually makes you vent off tension so you are more likely to be peaceful and loving.

Fantasizing can be just as satisfying to your physical and emotional needs than reality, and it is harmless, so why shun it?

A woman's perception of her own body

Also, how does this affect the way a woman perceives her own body? I think it contributes to her feeling ashamed of her body even in front of God who created it and in front of herself.

If you don't wear hijab in front of men, you shouldn't wear it during prayer

Another interesting contradiction is that there are Muslim women who don't wear hijab and in fact campaign against it, yet they wear hijab when they pray. Why wear hijab in front of God when you don't wear it in front of men? Is God more aroused or more offended by your hair then men? And is it only when you pray that He can see you?

There is no ayah and no strong hadith about how to dress while praying, yet there are two ayahs in the Quran that talk about dressing modestly in front of men (even though the interpretations of modesty may differ.)

So why put more emphasis on hijab during prayer than hijab in front of men?

The opposite makes more sense to me. But if you're not going to wear hijab in front of men then why wear it in front of God and why assume that it is only during prayer that He can see you?

I wouldn't wear it at all in either situation.

This promotes the perception of God as anthropomorphic—having human characteristics. Wearing hijab exclusively during prayer degrades God's image to human characteristics of the most degradable kind—the sexual aspect.

This contradicts what Islamic prayer is supposed to promote with the repetition of "Allahu Akbar" up to 24 times during each prayer. This is meant to expand our perception of God higher and higher.

This practice also assumes that God, like men, only has two eyes that can't see through clothes, someone we only meet occasionally and who we can elude if we do a good job covering our bodies.

How long is God's beard?

How does the requirement of Muslims to wear hijab during prayer affect our perception of God?

God created the Universe, and that is why some Sufis and other religions equate God with the Universe. Yet orthodox Muslims consider this to be blasphemy, because, to them, God is greater than the universe. If so, why don't you treat Him as if He is greater than the universe? I know the universe is not offended by my ankles or my hair, so why should God be?

I can't imagine anything greater than the universe. All I know is my experience. When I am thinking of God as the universe, life and existence, I am not self-conscious about my body. So why do I feel self-conscious about my body when I am praying even though God is supposed to be greater than the universe?

Teaching women to be self-conscious about their bodies during prayer depicts God as not only a man, but a man with a long beard and a frown.

The longer a man's beard is, the more he is likely to be offended by a woman's hair, and the more we women need to cover up in front of him. Men who don't have beards are less likely to be offended by our hair. We are comfortable in their presence and they are comfortable with ours. Religious men who have a short beard are easier to be with. They will not be offended if they see parts of our hair coming out of our scarves. As for the men with the long beards, we have to cover up really well in front of them. They are also fearful to be with. They will react with a vengeance if they see something they don't like. Those are the men whom we imagine to be like God, based on how we are told to act when we are praying.

Based on that, how long do we think God's beard is?

I know what some readers would say: "astaghfer Ullahal Azeem; this is blasphemy!" Yes, it is blasphemy to consider God as a man in our words, so why do we treat Him as a man in our actions?

It seems that some of us have the perception of God as having a mentality that is slightly greater than the clerics who issue fatwas for us—quite unlike the Universe which is awe inspiring when we contemplate it.

Why is this a big deal?

It's not just an issue of putting on a headscarf and it's not just a ritual.

I think this issue is important because it has a profound impact on our belief system "Aqidah." I think we should be mindful and aware of any acts that promote the concept of an anthropomorphic god; one with human characteristics.

I also think we should promote acts that expand our perception of God to a higher level. God is supposed to be "Greater" than the universe, since He created it. We shouldn't be thinking of Him as if He is one of us.