Guide to the Requirement of Covering the Awrah in Prayer

Question
What is the evidence for the requirement of covering the awrah in prayer?
Answer
His saying, exalted be He: (Take your adornment at every mosque) Al-A'raf: 31, and the reason for citing this verse is that Allah, the Exalted, commanded us to take adornment at every mosque, and what is meant is covering the private parts for the sake of prayer, not for the sake of people. This is because there are more people in the market than in the mosques; if it were for the sake of people, He would have said: at every market. And from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him: ((A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, about praying in one garment, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: Does each of you not have two garments?)), in Sahih al-Bukhari 1: 141, and Sahih Muslim 1: 367. The reason for citing his saying, peace be upon him: ((Does each of you not have two garments?)) is that his wording is an inquiry, and its meaning is informing about the state they were in regarding the tightness of their garments, and it includes a fatwa by implication. If covering the private parts is obligatory, especially in prayer, and not everyone has two garments, how did you not know that it is permissible to pray in one garment? And his saying, peace be upon him: ((The prayer of a menstruating woman is not accepted except with a headscarf)), in Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2: 215, and al-Tirmidhi said: A good hadith. And in Sunan Abu Dawood 1: 229, and Sunan Ibn Majah 1: 215, and al-Mustadrak 1: 380, and al-Hakim said: This hadith is authentic, according to the conditions of Muslim, but they did not narrate it, and in Sahih Ibn Hibban 4: 612, and Sheikh Shu'ayb said: Its chain is good, and in Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 1: 380, and al-A'zami said: Its chain is authentic. And the menstruating woman is the mature woman. And from Jarhad, may Allah be pleased with him: ((The Prophet, peace be upon him, passed by him while he was exposing his thigh, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Cover your thigh, for it is part of the private parts)), in Sunan al-Tirmidhi 5: 111, and al-Tirmidhi said: A good hadith, and in Musnad Ahmad 3: 479, and Sheikh Shu'ayb said: Good with its supporting evidence, and this chain is weak due to its contradictions. And in Sunan Abu Dawood 2: 436, and in Sahih al-Bukhari, it is mentioned as a suspended narration 1: 145, and in al-Mustadrak 4: 200. See: Maraqi al-Falah p. 210-211, Al-Wiqayah and its explanation by Sadr al-Shari'ah 1: 143, Radd al-Muhtar 1: 408, and Bada'i al-Sana'i 1: 117, and Al-Hadiyyah al-Alaiyyah p. 72.
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