Woman covering her head while eating

24/01/2010| IslamWeb

Question:

Is it obligatory for a Muslim woman to cover her head while she is eating food or is it Bid'a? I have seen many women doing this in my home country. Can you mention any Hadeeth of our beloved Prophet Muhammad quoting such a thing?

 

Fatwa:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

We do not know any evidence that urges the woman to cover her head when eating food, neither on a desirable nor obligatory basis. However, there is no harm that the woman covers her head when eating, and this is not considered an innovation as long as she does not intend by this act an act of worship. If she considers this as an act of worship then it is an innovation. So it is more appropriate not to cover her hair sometimes when eating so that people will not think that this is a Sunnah as long as there is nothing that requires covering the head like the presence of a marriageable man and so forth. If so, then it becomes obligatory to cover her head but not because of eating. 

 

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by:The Fatwa Center at Islamweb