I was brought up and raised that when I pray all my body parts; excluding my face and hands, shouldn't be exposed. So I always prayed that way, hiding all the parts I should but then about 2 years ago, I was praying with trousers and my cousin told me that wasn't allowed.

She said I wasn't allowed to wear pants during my prayers and if I was, I should cover it with another piece of cloth around my waist (leso; that's what I call them -- the same peice of cloth I use to cover my head).

Ever since, I did as she said, and it was never a problem. But I want to know if that's really a "must"!? Should I really be covering my pants although they cover my whole legs and they're also lose?

Let me hear from you!

how loose are you talking about? can you provide a picture?

i've also heard that you can't pray with pants on.

They're not tights, they are just normal trousers. Attached is an example. You might say it's quite tight around my bum but the leso (veil) I wear is so long that it covers it.

See if I was wearing lose trousers and a shirt dress over it which reaches my knees, then I don't cover my trousers with lesu because I believe that I am already fully covered as required and the shape of my body does not show in any way. However, if I was wearing trousers and a short top then I would use a lesu to cover up (even if I was wearing another lesu on top that covers the butt)

P.S: By short top I mean when you bend over, the shape of your butt will show as the top is not long enough to cover it.

When you pray, you should be in an attire that is acceptable as a muslim woman to wear outside. What Lym mentioned is what I usually do. If I am abroad and I am wearing a trouser and a long shirt, then it would be enough to pray with.

Fatwa No. : 90649
Fatwa Title : Woman's prayer in trousers
Fatwa Date : 12 Ramadhaan 1426 / 15-10-2005
Question

I have e-mailed you once before, but I never got my answer. I was asking whether it is considered Haraam for a woman to pray with pants on. I have heard that there should not be a separation of the legs for the woman, however I have also heard that it is ok just as long as the pants are loose.

Fatwa

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

We have already issued Fatwa 83269 clarifying the ruling on a woman who prays in trousers. Of course the ruling applies to whether the trousers are loose or not. Even if a woman wears trousers that do not shape the 'Awrah (parts of the body that must be covered in Islam) she is nevertheless not free from resembling men. If in wearing trousers she imitates men, then according to the Hanbali school she is obliged to make up her prayer, as they stated that whoever performs the prayer wearing forbidden clothes, must make it up unless he did not know that this is forbidden or forgot. However, other scholars are of the view that her prayer is correct and she is not obliged to make it up.

Allaah Knows best.

http://islamweb.net/ver2/fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=90649&Option=FatwaId

I personally was taught to never pray in pants. I have a cotton "skirt" that i use when praying, I just pull it up over whatever Im wearing. Its long (to the floor) so i feel safer than I would in anything else that might ride up while Im praying

The way I look at it is that as long as it is the way a mut7ajba will wear while going out, then it's ok. For instance, lose trousers, or as Lym stated.. Long top.

When in doubt, leave it out. If Im not 100% sure of something, I just dont do it. Why take the risk?

I found this fatwa from IslamOnline, I go by it, it's very straight forward:

Is it permitted for a Muslim woman to wear pants and jeans?

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

There are certain requirements that should be observed in the Muslim woman’s dress. Those requirements maybe clarified as follows:
1- It should not be transparent.
2- It should not describe the physical features of the body.
3- It should cover all parts of the body except the face and the hands.
4- It should not resemble the dress of disbelievers.
Once these requirements are fulfilled, there is nothing wrong in wearing whatever a Muslim woman wants to wear.

Not catching that part:
'It should not resemble the dress of the disbelievers'?

All those t-shirts and jeans, pants and shirts, all that resembles the 'dress of the disbelievers'.

^^ i dont think that jeans and t-shirt resemble the "dress of the disbelievers"...

it means no church clothes, relegious outfits, or t-shirts that have the christ or any other shape related to other relegions on it...

Not catching that part:
'It should not resemble the dress of the disbelievers'?

All those t-shirts and jeans, pants and shirts, all that resembles the 'dress of the disbelievers'.

So even the men who are wearing suits and are Muslims are sinful according to your understanding of that part of Fatwa?!! :o

Actually UmmKhalid that fatwa doesnt relate to prayer. The rules are a lil different for prayer. Check out thos ruling, it makes more sense.

http://islamweb.net/ver2/fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=81610&Option=FatwaId

Threadlike,

Actually, you just reminded me of something I found funny to know which is that in the 1920s pants were Haram as they were seen as 'clothes of the disbelievers'. But pants and t-shirts are not 'clothes of the disbelievers', they are Western clothes, and how many Westerners are Muslims! If they dress in a way they see as casual it can't be Haram, it's not logical.

What they mean is the clothes that you look at and know they belong to a certain Religious group. For example nuns dress modestly but in a way we know they are Christian nuns. We should dress modestly, but not specifically the way nuns dress. That's one example.

Hijabi,

I agree with Arabian Princess' view. Which is that when a woman leaves her house it should be suitable that if she'd had to pray somewhere she won't have a problem with clothes. The Fatwa talks about the rulings of a woman's clothes, anything that has those rules applied makes it Physical Hijab. So a woman doesn't need to wear something specific to pray, anything that goes by those rules stated is accepted.

^ UmKhalid, great answer ;)

don't know about women in particular, but for us gents (..ahem) I "heard" that we have to fully covered from belly button till end of knees.
but If I really follow that ONLY and wear a cloth covering me from belly till knees, i will be kicked out of the mosque and that's just Oman, some country like India or Pakistan, they will kill me!
I went to a mosque once in Khuwair and wore those 3/4s pants/shorts thing. Now those are below the knees and also they don't uncover the knees after bending the legs so Sajda. One elderly fellow caught me after the prayer and started inaza3ni (yell at me) for wearing "shorts" and desrespecting Allah in His mosque. I kindly asked him, tell me what is allowed, he said wear dishdasha, I asked him no like tell me what kind of clothes are allowed (I had known the belly to knees before that) and he told me the same belly to knee. SO I just demostrated to him "see Im covered." then he din't say anythin to me just turnd around and walked away saying some jibberish (I wonder if those were bad words, IN THE MOSQUE?)
Point is, you should follow those rules of being "truly" covered and that's it. The respect and faith is always in your heart!

I went to a mosque once in Khuwair and wore those 3/4s pants/shorts thing. Now those are below the knees and also they don't uncover the knees after bending the legs so Sajda. One elderly fellow caught me after the prayer and started inaza3ni (yell at me) for wearing "shorts" and desrespecting Allah in His mosque. I kindly asked him, tell me what is allowed, he said wear dishdasha, I asked him no like tell me what kind of clothes are allowed (I had known the belly to knees before that) and he told me the same belly to knee. SO I just demostrated to him "see Im covered." then he din't say anythin to me just turnd around and walked away saying some jibberish (I wonder if those were bad words, IN THE MOSQUE?)
Point is, you should follow those rules of being "truly" covered and that's it. The respect and faith is always in your heart!

Riv I agree that faith is always in the heart, however its always good to respect Allah in his house. You might not have done something wrong islamicly, but we are asked to wear best of clothes when we go to the mosque.

^exactly, but at the time favorable clothes were not available and I had to pray Maghrib! If the clothes are as advised for prayer, I think its good enough. I would wear my best to go and pray, that was just because of time constraint and availablility.

^ then yah I guess its best to pray maghrib in mosque in your case :)