No Distinction Between The Salaah Of Men And Women

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Maailk Ibn al-Huwairith رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ❝Offer your prayers in the manner you saw me offering my prayers.❞ [1]

Imaam al-Bukhaaree reported in his Saheeh that: “Umm al-Dardaa [2] used to sit in al-Salaah like men, and she was a woman well-versed (in religious knowledge - Faqeehah).” [3]

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SHAIKH IBN AL-`UTHAYMEEN رخمه الله: 
❝This report supports the point under discussion: women sit in prayer the same way as men. This contradicts the view of many jurists, who argue that a woman should sit with her legs extended to her right side.

The correct view is that she should sit as a man sits, Mutafarrishan, [4] and Mutawarrukan [5] because the principle is that men and women are equal regarding religious duties, unless evidence is presented that justifies a distinction between them.❞ [6]

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Question: The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ stated: ❝Pray in the same manner you have seen me praying.❞ We understand from this Hadeeth that there is no difference between a man and a woman in the manner of performing al-Salaah (Prayer). I have been acting on this Hadeeth since I reached puberty. However, some women in Kenya consider my Salaah invalid because the manner I perform it resembles the way men perform it. They claim that women are not allowed to place their hands on their chests like men do and that they are not required to level their backs while in Rukoo` as the case is with men. I would like you to clarify for me whether there is really a difference between how a man and a woman offer Salah.

SHAIKH IBN BAAZ رحمه الله:
❝Dear sister in Islaam, the correct view is that there is no difference between a man and a woman as far as performance of al-Salaah is concerned. No evidence supports the views held by some scholars that a woman’s manner of performing Salaah differs from that of a man. The Hadeeth you mentioned in the question, which reads: ❝Pray in the same manner as you have seen me praying❞, applies to all Muslims, men and women alike. The general rule is that Islaamic laws apply to all Muslims unless there exists some evidence that specifies a certain category.

It is Sunnah for a woman to perform al-Salaah in the same way as men are ordered to perform it. This includes Rukoo` (bowing), Sujood (prostration), placing the hands on the chest when in the standing position, spreading the fingers out on the knees when in the bowing position, placing the two palms on the ground when in the prostrating position, raising the hands parallel to the shoulders or earlobes, and leveling the back in Rukoo`. The woman should also repeat the same Du`aa (supplications) and Adhkaar (remembrance of Allaah) which men recite in the different positions of al-Salaah. This is based on the Hadeeth in which the Prophet ﷺ stated: ❝Pray as you have seen me praying❞. Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh.❞ [7]

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SHAIKH AL-ALBAANEE رحمه الله:
❝All that has been mentioned of the description of the Prophet’s prayer ﷺ applies equally to men and women, for there is nothing in the Sunnah to necessitate the exception of women from any of these descriptions; in fact, the generality of his ﷺ statement: ❝Pray as you have seen me praying❞, includes women. This is the view of Ibraaheem al-Nakh`ee, who said: ❝A woman’s actions in the prayer are the same as a man’s❞ -transmitted by Ibn Abi Shaibah in Musannaf (2788), with a Saheeh Sanad from him.

Also, al-Bukhaaree reported in at-Taareekh al-Sagheer (p. 95), with a Saheeh Sanad from Umm al-Dardaa, that she used to sit in her prayer as a man sits, and that she was a woman of understanding. The Hadeeth about the Indimaam (tucking up) of a woman in prostration, and that she is in that regard not like a man, is Mursal and not authentic. Abu Daawood transmitted it in al-Maraaseel on the authority of Yazeed ibn Abi Habeeb. As for what Imaam Ahmad has reported, as in his son `Abdullaah’s Masaa'il, from Ibn `Umar, that he used to instruct his wives to sit cross-legged in prayer, its Sanad is not authentic, for it contains `Abdullaah Ibn `Umar al-`Amri, who is a Da'eef (weak) narrator.❞ [8]

📑 NOTES:

[1] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (631, 6008, 7246)

[2] Umm al-Dardaa al-Sughraa. Hujayma bint Huyayy al-Wassabiyya - known as Umm al-Dardaa al-Sughraa - was a prominent Taabi`iyyah (the generation following the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ). She was a Faqeehah (jurist/scholar) and a Muhaddithah (narrator of Hadeeth). She was the second wife of the noble Companion Abu al-Dardaa al-Ansari, though she never met the Prophet ﷺ.

She has narrated Ahaadeeth from her husband, Abu al-Dardaa, `Aaishah bint Abu Bakr, Abu Hurairah, and others رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.

[Note: She should not be confused with Umm al-Dardaa al-Kubra, the Prophet’s ﷺ Companion and the first wife of Abu al-Dardaa.]

[3] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, Book No. 10, Kitaab al-Adhaan, Chapter No. 145, Chapter: The Prophet’s Sunnah (the proper way) for sitting in the Tashah-hud (in al-Salaah).

[4] Mutafarrishan (from Iftiraash) - Sitting on the left foot with the right foot upright on its toes, toes pointing toward the Qiblah.

[5] Mutawarrukan (from Tawarruk) - Sitting in the final Tashahhud with the left foot placed under the right calf, buttocks on the ground, and with the right foot upright.

[6] Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhaaree of Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen (3/370).

[7] Majmoo` Fataawa Ibn Baaz (11/79-80).

[8] Sifah Salaah al-Nabee ﷺ of Shaikh al-Albaanee

[Note: The statement of Ibraaheem al-Nakh`ee, who said: ❝A woman’s actions in the prayer are the same as a man’s❞ the actual wording reported in Musannaf is: ❝The woman sits in the prayer the same way as a man.❞ Shaikh al-Albaanee might have reported the meaning of this narration from his memory]