Women's Salat: Totally Confused

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marildu

Junior Member
So last night Alhamdulillah I got the courage up to attend a masjid for the first time. I am a sister.

I was taught to pray salat so that when we say the takbeer you only raise your hands to your shoulders. The hands are also kept on the chest instead of the waist. Feet close together. You also keep your stomach to your thighs when in sujood and your arms close to your sides and your forearms are on the ground by your side.

However when I went to the masjid only one other sister and I prayed this way. I have looked up fatwas and information concerning this and I am getting conflicting answers. Some say there is no difference and others say there is with supporting hadith. Can anyone provide me with some help?
 
A

alhamdulillah

Junior Member
Bismillah,

Wa'alaikum'Assalam wa'Rahmatullahi wa'Barakatuhu dearest sister.

Alhamdulillah, your question is quite important Masha'Allah.

i would strongly advice you to read the book titled: 'The Prophets' Prayer Described, (from beginning to the end, as if you have seen him)' by Shaykh Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albani

it is a book to read Masha'Allah...Insha'Allah, you can purchase it from a local islamic bookstore as it is a very well known and precise book Masha'Allah.

Alayhis sallatu wassalam said: 'Pray as you have seen me praying' ...

and Allah Knows Best.........

wasalam
 
N

naeemqc

New Member
ASSALAMOALIKUM
i think sister u should better study some books and try to learn the thing s which are not conflicted,,,,
Once u understand the sprit of salath then u can understand other parts
wassalam
Muhammad naeem
 
M

marildu

Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,
By conflicting I mean that some people say yes women do pray a little differently and there are some that say there is no difference.
 
N

naeemqc

New Member
walikumsalam
sister for that u shud tell if ur of which maslak,
i.e hanfi,shafi,malik,hanbal,
then i can tell u ..... and if u dont know than it is something which is conflicting
wasalam
Muhammad Naeem
 
I

IMAM

Junior Member
1. Reciting Surat al-Fatiha fast without pausing after each verse.



The Prophet (SAW) used to pause after each verse of this surah. (Abu Dawood)





2. Sticking the arms to the sides of the body, in rukoo' or sujood, and sticking the belly to the thighs in sujood.



The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "Let not one of you support himself on his forearms (in sujood ) like the dog.

Let him rest on his palms and keep his elbows away from his body." ( Sahih Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used to keep his arms away from his body during rukoo' and sujood that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen ( Sahih Muslim).





3. Gazing upward during prayer. This may cause loss of concentration. We are commanded to lower our gaze, and look at the point at which the head rests during sujood.



The Prophet (SAW) warned: "Let those who raise their gaze up during prayer stop doing so, or else their sights would not return to them. [ i.e. Lose their eyesight]. " ( Muslim)





4. Resting only the tip of the head on the floor during sujood.



The Prophet (SAW) said: "I am commanded to prostrate on seven bones the forehead and the nose, the two hands [palms],the two knees, and the two feet." ( Sahih Muslim)



Applying the above command necessitates resting the forehead and the nose on the ground during sujood.



5. Hasty performance of prayer which does not allow repose and calmness in rukoo' or sujood.



The Messenger of Allah (SAW) saw a man who did not complete his rukoo' [bowing], and made a very short sujood [prostration];he(SAW) said: "If this man dies while praying in this manner, he would die upholding a religion other than the religion of Muhammad."





Abu Hurairah (RA) said:"My beloved friend, Muhammad (SAW) forbade me to perform postures of prayer copying the picking of a rooster; (signifying fast performance of prayer), moving eyes around like a fox and the sitting like monkeys ( i.e. to sit on thighs)." (Imam Ahmad & at-Tayalisi)



The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:?"The worst thief is the one who steals from his own prayer."?People asked, 'Messenger of Allah! How could one steal from his own prayer?'



He(SAW) said: "By not completing its rukoo' and sujood."(At-Tabarani & al-Hakim).



To complete rukoo' is to stay in that posture long enough to recite 'subhana rabbiyal Adtheem' three times, SLOWLY,and'subhana rabbiyal-a'ala' three times, SLOWLY, in sujood.





He (SAW) also announced:"He who does not complete his rukoo' and sujood, his prayer is void." (Abu Dawood & others)







6. Counting tasbeeh with the left hand





The Prophet (SAW) used to count tasbeeh on the fingers of his right hand after salah.



lbn Qudamah (RA) said:?"The Messenger of Allah (SAW) used his right hand for tasbeeh." ( Abu Dawud)



The above hadeeth indicates clearly that the Prophet (SAW) used only one hand for counting tasbeeh.?No Muslim with sound mind would imagine that the Prophet (SAW)?used his left hand for counting tasbeeh. Aa'ishah (RA) said that the Prophet (SAW)used his left hand only for Istinjaa', or cleaning himself after responding to the call of nature.?He never used it for tasbeeh.





Yasirah (RA) reported:?The Prophet(SAW) commanded women to count tasbeeh on their fingers.





The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:?"They (the fingers) will be made to speak, and will be questioned (on the Day of Resurrection.)" (At-Tirmithi)



The above hadeeth indicates that it is preferable to count tasbeeh on the fingers of the right hand than to do so on masbahah(rosary).







7. Crossing in front of a praying person.





The Messenger of Allah (SAW) warned:?"Were the one who crosses in front of a praying person to know the consequences of doing so, he would have waited for *forty better than to cross in front of him." (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim).*The forty in the tradition may be days months or even years.

Allah knows best.
 
Basicofislam

Basicofislam

sister
Assalamalikum.In the video section there is a thread called " Learn to pray as the prophet prayed" . They have taken it from the book by sheikh albaani
 
M

marildu

Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,

I'm sorry but the answers so far are not really helpful to me. I knew these before. There are also many hadith that women should pray differently. I was told that when the Prophet (pbuh) said that he was in the company of men. These statements are very general as well but then the ones saying that there is a difference is very specific.
 
Umm Aysha

Umm Aysha

*Strive for Jannah*
Asalaamu Alaykum

Sister you are right a womans prayer is slightly different to mans prayers. As the woman prays she keeps her self tightly to herself. Its explained below. I also have seen many people pray their own way. I hope if the information i have given is inncorrect then someone will insha-allah correct me..

ma'salaama
 
T

TearfulEyes

Guest
naeemqc said:
walikumsalam
sister for that u shud tell if ur of which maslak,
i.e hanfi,shafi,malik,hanbal,
then i can tell u ..... and if u dont know than it is something which is conflicting
wasalam
Muhammad Naeem
Click to expand...

As for me, I am not malki or hanbali, or hanafi or shafi. I only pick the easiet and more common sense of these great scholars' descriptions or thoughts. I am still an Muslim by doing that.
 
A

alhamdulillah

Junior Member
muslima80 said:
Asalaamu Alaykum

Sister you are right a womans prayer is slightly different to mans prayers. As the woman prays she keeps her self tightly to herself. Thats how i pray. Its explained below. I also have seen many people pray their own way. I hope if the information i have given is inncorrect then someone will insha-allah correct me..

http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Learn_Now/English/Diff_Between_Mens_And_Womens_Salah.htm

ma'salaama
Click to expand...


Bismillah,

Assalamualaykum....

Subhan'Allah...........with my due respect to all, i dont mean to lead this towards a conducive thread, but my understanding of Salah is NO different to men!

i would again urge everone to read this book:

'The Prophets' Prayer Described, (from beginning to the end, as if you have seen him)' by Shaykh Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albani

i also understand that men and women may differ in several aspects of life. Women are different in their responsibilities likewise men are too.
but when it comes to the Deen, all are equal in the sight of Allah!

i too have researched into this quite a bit Alhamdulillah, still i have people saying that women should pray differently, tucked in etc......but Alhamdulillah after much consideration, i came to a decision and that was to pray like alayhis sallatu wassalam prayed without any BUTS......

as he said (peace be upon him) 'Pray as you have seen ME praying'.... not 'O 'men', pray as you have seen me praying...'.........

these issuses can lead to unconvincing arguments, Islam is about unity Ahamdulillah, and adhering to the Glorious Qu'ran and the precise Sunnah of alayhis sallatu wassalam. May Allah give us all the ability to do stick to this source Ameen.

Allah knows best....i am no one to give any statements....but may Allah guide us all to that which pleases Him the most Ameen.

anything i said good, is from Allah Alone, anything dumbfound is from me and shaytaan....and may Allah forgive me Ameen!

Wasalam
 
J

jameelahcowell

New Member
womens prayer

Asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatulah,


There is no difference between a man or womens prayer. The prophet SAW said 'pray like you see me pray'. I know there are some muslim brothers and sisters who follow a certain school of thought i.e Abu Hanifah RA, but don't forget all theses respected scholars said, if any of their words or teachings go against Allah SWT or against the prophet SAW then do NOT follow them but refer to the Qur'an and to the Sunnah of the prophet Mohammed SAW.
And Allah knows best.

As one of the sisters has already mentioned to you, I would also advice you to invest in the book called 'The Prophets Prayer Described' written by Shaikh Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaani and every action is backed up by an authentic Hadeeth.

May AllahSWT have Mercy on us and our families and guide us all on the true path Aameen.
 
M

marildu

Junior Member
Salat of Women

Q.) I know that during Sajda, the women are supposed to have their fore arms including the elbow flat on the ground, according to the Hanafis. Could you provide some hadith supporting this view and explain how this came about. Could you also offer an explanation of how the admonition that keeping elbows on the ground is like imitating a dog is pertaining to men. Jazakullah Khair for your time. [Sanzid Rabby]

A.) Woman have been told to contract during the prostration. It is related from Ali, Radi-Allahu anhu, that when a woman prostrates, she should contract and join her thighs together (Musannaf ibn Abi Shayba, Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq). Ibn 'Abbas, Radi-Allahu anhu, was asked about the prayer of a woman. He said, "She should contract and come together" (Musannaf ibn Abi Shayba). It is related from Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) that a woman should contract in prostration" (Musannaf ibn Abi Shayba). Likewise, Ibrahim Nakh'ay said, "When a woman prostrates she should join her stomach to her thighs and not raise her buttocks and she should not separate [her limbs] as men do. Imam Abu Dawud relates in his Marasil from Yazid ibn Habib that the Messenger of Allah passed by two woman who were praying. He said to them, "When you pray join part of your body to the ground, for women are not like men in this regard. Imam Shafi'i writes in Al-Umm "A man and woman in regards to remembrance and salat are the same, except that I instruct that they be more concealing than men in ruku' and prostration by joining their limbs together. A similar opinion has been related from Imam Ahmad, and such is also the Hanafi opinion.

As far as the following hadith is concerned in which the Messenger of Allah Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Be reposeful in prostration and do not rest your forearms on the ground as a dog does," (Bukhari, Muslim), this prohibition does not extend to women since they have been instructed to contract in prostration, which includes placing the arms on the ground. This is further supported by a version of this narration in Sahih Muslim, which states that "the Messenger of Allah Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam prohibited that a man spread his forearms like a beast" -hence, excluding women (see Radd al-muhtar 1:432).

And Allah knows best.

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As for the hadith "Pray as you have seen me pray" there are many differences between a woman's and a man's prayer.
What is fardh on them is not fardh on us. We don't lead salat or make the adhan. So to say that they are the same doesn't seem to gel really. Please forgive me if I am being bothersome and close this thread if you wish, but I wanted some more explanation.
 
Submitter

Submitter

Junior Member
:salam2:

I don't know much about this in terms of evidence from Qur'an and hadith, but what I will say is when I was at madressa we were always taught men prayed different to women, as described in the post above this.

Sister, I'm curios to know in your research so far, have you found more evidence for or against men and women praying the same way?

:wasalam:
 
samiha

samiha

---------
Staff member
There is a man... I forget his name, he wrote a book called Salaat from A-Z or something like that, and he said that women don't really have much differenciation from men and that they should contract themselves when they fear being seen by strange men.

Allahu Alom.
 
M

marildu

Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,
In my personal research I've seen more saying it's different. But I am no scholar. Basically the only things I have found saying they are the same are the hadiths mentioned by Alhamdulillah and by Imam in the beginning of this thread. That is why I am more curious than ever and these explanations aren't very satisfactory to me.
 
samiha

samiha

---------
Staff member
Wa alaykum assalam.

you see, i've been reasearching too. And I've come to realize that these websites that say the women's salah is different, don't provide evidence in Hadith, they interpret thoughts. Of all the hadith that were mentioned above, is only the one that say women should contract. As to how they should contract has been interpreted. Why should the hadith saying not to pray like dogs be abolished for women, just to contract? Contracting comes in many ways. I've heard another hadith that says women should do what is most concealing for her during the prayer. Still it doesn't say that you squesh yourself on the ground.

I mean no offence and I am no scholar, but I have heard from scholars views, and so I think men and women don't really have diff. in salah.
 
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