Short answer
In the Hanafi school, yes: the face, the hands up to the wrists and the feet are not awrah in prayer, so the prayer is valid with them showing. The forearms, ankles and shins are awrah. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools require the feet to be covered.
On the relied-upon Hanafi view, a woman's feet (tops and soles) and her hands up to the wrists are not awrah in salah, so showing them does not affect the prayer, though covering the feet is better. The forearm above the wrist and the leg above the ankle are awrah.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- In prayer her whole body except the face and hands is awrah, so the feet, including the soles, must be covered.
- Maliki
- Her feet should be covered in prayer; if they show, she repeats the prayer while its time remains.
- Hanbali
- Her whole body except the face is awrah in prayer, so the feet must be covered; the hands are debated within the school.
Explanation
This question comes up all the time: a sister prays in socks at work but barefoot at home, or her sleeves ride up in sujud (prostration). In Hanafi fiqh the parts that may show in prayer are the face, the hands up to the wrists and the feet. Al-Hidaya records that the sounder view is that the feet are not awrah, and later Hanafi texts rely on it.
What does matter is just above those parts:
- Forearms. The forearm from the wrist to the elbow is awrah. Short or loose sleeves that slide back in ruku and sujud can expose it. If a quarter of a forearm shows for the length of one pillar, the prayer is invalid.
- Ankles and shins. The leg above the ankle is awrah. Make sure your skirt or prayer garment stays down in sujud.
- Wrists. A watch strap or bangles do not cover; what counts is cloth over the skin.
Even though bare feet do not spoil the prayer in the Hanafi school, many Hanafi teachers advise covering them with socks or a long garment, to be safe from the difference of opinion and because it is more modest. Outside prayer, in front of non-mahram men, cover the feet as well.
See do you need hijab to pray at home for the quarter rule, and how women pray for the full method.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:31
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُنَّ أَوِ ٱلتَّٰبِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ أَوِ ٱلطِّفْلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ عَوْرَٰتِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٣١﴾
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
The exception for what normally appears is the basis for excusing the face, hands and, for the Hanafis, the feet.
Sunan Abi Dawud 641
Graded sahih... لا يقبل الله صلاة حائض إلا بخمار ...
"Allah does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a head covering."
Shows that covering is a condition of a woman's prayer.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the conditions that come before prayer. The feet are not awrah on the sounder narration.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the conditions of prayer. The face, hands and feet are excluded from the woman's awrah in prayer.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on covering the awrah. Shafi'i: the whole body except the face and hands, so the feet are included.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.