Praying in public..what do you think

[MubarekMuslimah]

Assalaamu alaikum

I agree with sis ShyHijabi - I have prayed in public when absolutely necessary. But I am careful to make sure my back is to a wall or corner so there can be no view from anyone behind me - Im sure you know what I mean.

What is the most unusual place you have prayed?

I prayed in Starbucks once - BEFORE I knew not to go there! The staff working there were Muslim and they were very happy to see some sisters pray and turned off the music for us . It was downstairs in a quiet corner and only ladies were sitting down there anyway. We had no choice - either miss the prayer or do it. I think for sisters if you are sensible about protecting yourself and being modest and you can do it, then why not?

 

[gazkour]

Assalamo alikom wa rahmato Allah wa barakato

Salaam,

You still have not provided daleel. Women pray behind men as they (men) are leading as well as we bend at the waist and don't wish to do that in front of a man's face. But women prayed behind men outdoors as well as in the mosque, the first time Rasool was seen leading a prayer it was with Ali at his side and Kadijah behind him. It was the first jummah and his wife was visible.

Women are permitted to pray in public and I have not seen anything to indicate otherwise. There is no mosque here and when I am at work I simply find a corner where I can keep my back to a wall. This is a religion of ease and we are obligated to pray five times a day, female or male. Purdah does not mean a woman is to stay locked in a house all day and never go out as the Asian and Middle Eastern cultures have made it. Purdah can mean dressing in proper hijab and carrying yourself with adaab. Rasool said it is better for a woman to pray at home but did not forbid her from praying in public. If I see proper daleel indicating that women cannot pray in public then I stand corrected, but as it stands I only hear people's opinions and assumptions but not a fatwa or daleel.

Wasalaam

I completely agree with you sister.

May Allah guide us all.

Assalamo alikom wa rahmato Allah wa barako

 

[IslamicGirl24]

Salam.

I am sorry if what I said was wrong. I am always open to correction. It's just that the society in which I live in is very conservative. We have been always taught to stay away from the places where there are a LOT of men who have no Adaab and stare at women.

Islam does not forbid women to go outside. But it does not encourage them to go outside either. (I am not saying that you should never go out!!

The incident that you quoted, I think, took place before hijab was made compulsory. So you can't link it with the offering of namaz in public.
Anyways, it is said that Aisha R.A used to offer her prayer by staying in the house in purdah. She didn't go to the mosque to offer her prayer, although the masjid was just outside her house.

But ofcourse, I have no right to think that what I am saying is ABSOLUTELY correct. I live in an Islamic society and therefore have got no clue whatsoever about how muslims suffer in the Western societies. Allah knows that it was not my intention to make assumptions, rather i was just saying that a woman's prayer must be hidden.
I hope that nobody gets the wrong idea.
InshaAllah I will do research about it and if I find anything beneficial, I will surely share it with you all.
Alah knows best.
Wassalam.