Re: Covering your head just for Adhaan ?
The covering of the head is not included in hijab when in front of mahram or in the home, but it is included for prayer even when in complete private and no one is around. This is why the women traditionally put on their head coverings upon hearing Adhzan - presumably to assume the posture for prayer or out of adab increasing their attentiveness.
The reason why it has become a benign act is because it became a cultural practice without meaning … and as Redvelvet has mentioned many women just do the adjusting without following up with prayer and get right back to what they were doing …
However, I would be hesitant to lay a benign act to rest … and simply stop doing it … No, I would rather encourage people to continue but then to follow up on why they do it and reflect on it until the penny drops and they start to pray too.
Also, from a hadith stand point … there is a sign of the Day of Judgment that Calamity will not strike the Earth until the last person is saying “Allah Allah” - he is asked what that means and he will be unable to answer and say merely that he is emulating what his forefather did and he was a child and he saw he him do it … In other words the Destruction from happening will be prevented from a mere benign act … An act that carries much spiritual weight but no practical weight or meaning.
I used to believe that people who placed greater emphasis on good acts over mandatory acts should be chastised and corrected … I have grown to see that my approach could have been quite harmful … Because it is possible that through a “bonus” act the “mandatory” acts are being observed …
It is not necessary to pray in Jammat merely prayer is fardh, but if we create a habit of praying in jammat it encourages us to pray … It is not necessary to remain in wudu, but we are protected if we stay in wudu and it is easier to pray if we don’t have to do wudu and then pray taking more time up and so on … This is why I also like it when people go to gatherings - because when people speak about Allah (SWT) they become inclined to Him and an environment is created where the observing of the mandatory elements become easier and of higher reward.
Some people believe that we should abandon the small things and focus on the big ticket items, if we are not doing the big ticket items … I have seen more people fail that way … Rather we should grow our adherence to our obligations THROUGH the small good deeds that we are already finding easy to do out of cultural norms or habit.