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Fatwa CenterPraying without fully covering ‘Awrah
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. My sister used to pray in short sleeves, and I had told her that she should pray in long sleeves. Long after that, she still used to pray in short sleeves. Recently, she has bought a piece of cloth which will cover her hands. During the time that she used to pray in short sleeves, she gave me some money as gift. I hold the view that it is not permissible to accept gifts from non-Muslims. What should i do with the money that she gave me during the time that she used to pray in short sleeves? Should I give it back to her to be on the safe side, or is it permissible for me to use it?
Answer
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.
First of all, it appears to us from this question and your previous questions that you are suffering from some sort of Waswasah (obsessive whisperings) in the subject of disbelief and accepting gifts from non-Muslims, and even from Muslims whom you think are non-Muslims.
Hence, we advise you to fear Allah and stop being carried away with those whisperings, and it is not permissible for you to judge that a Muslim is a disbeliever just because he is negligent about some of the conditions of the prayer or its obligations.
Your sister is a Muslim, and she is not a disbeliever just because she is negligent about the condition of covering the ‘Awrah (what must be covered of the body) in prayer. Perhaps you are unaware that some scholars of Fiqh are of the view that covering the ‘Awrah in prayer is an obligation, and not a condition that invalidates the prayer if not fulfilled.
There is a considerable opinion of the Maaliki School that covering the ‘Awrah is an obligation, and not a condition, so the prayer is valid for whoever does not cover his ‘Awrah, but he is sinful.
An-Nafraawi 
said:
“Know that there is a difference of opinion regarding covering the ‘Awrah in prayer, and it was said: It is an obligation and a condition while one remembers it and is able to do it. It was also said that it is an obligation and not a condition while one remembers it and is able to do it too. Based on this, if one prayed while exposing his ‘Awrah deliberately while he was able to cover it, according to the view that it is a condition, he must repeat the prayer because it was invalid, and according to the view that it is not a condition, he repeats the prayer only if its due time has not expired while he knows (about the prayer) and is able to do it. He is sinful if he is able to perform it and he knows about it, but not when he is not able to do it or when he forgot it.”
The view that we adopt here at Islamweb is that covering the ‘Awrah is a condition for the validity of the prayer, as per the view of the majority of the scholars, but we mentioned to you the view of the Maaliki School to clarify to you that the matter does not reach the point of Takfeer (accusing your sister of disbelief), so you must fear Allah and stop those whisperings, and there is no harm on you in benefiting from the money which your sister gave you.
Allah knows best.
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