Prayer (Salah) is a mandatory worship for all Muslims, Men and Women. Many Muslims ask about the difference between men’s and women’s Salah or Do Muslim Women Pray? Muslim women pray the same as men but with different conditions.
Muslim men are required to worship in mosques, whereas women are permitted to pray at home, offices, schools, or any clean and sheltered spot. Muslim women also have some other conditions that exempt them from praying such as menstruation.
So, about the question Do Muslim Women Pray?
The answer will be yes. And if we are talking about Can a woman pray during menstruation? The answer will be no.
Is there a Difference Between A Man’s and A Woman’s Prayer in Islam
Mostly, yes. Men and women have the same obligation to pray five times a day. According to traditional Islamic texts, men are required to pray on Fridays. Women can pray on their own, hether at home or work. However, men are required to attend the Friday prayer. Additionally, men are expected to participate in daily congregational prayers. Women could pray at home, and work.
So we can state the difference between a man’s and a woman’s prayer in Islam with the following points:
- It is permissible for women to go out and pray in the mosque with men, although their prayer at home is better for them because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not prevent the women from going out to the mosques, even though their homes are better for them.”
قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (لا تمنعوا نساءكم المساجد ، وبيوتهن خير لهن).”
- Women should pray in a congregation, led by one of their own because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed Umm Waraqah to lead the women of her home in prayer.
- The woman leading the prayer should read aloud as long as no non-mahram man can hear her.
- The lady’s entire body is ‘awrah and must be covered during prayer, except for her face, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No prayer will be accepted from an adult woman unless she wears a khimaar (head-cover).
- If women pray in rows behind men, the back rows are more beneficial than the front rows.
- If a woman and a man are praying, she should be behind him, not next to him.
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Is It Mandatory for A Muslim Woman to Pray in Mosques?
Answering this question would be no, women don’t need to go to the mosque, it is optional for Muslim women to pray anywhere but it must be sheltered. The Prophet Muhammed (Allah bless him and grant him peace) never forbade women from attending mosques; rather, he stated that women should not be barred from entering mosques. As a result, the jurists (fuqaha) based their decision on the positions of Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with them both), who were concerned about mischief and injury.
Read also about: Where can a muslim pray
Women Are the Twin Halves of Men (النساء شقائق الرجال)
During the time of Prophet Muhammed, may God bless him and grant him peace, female companions would ask him for fatwas on women’s concerns, and modesty did not hinder them from doing so because they were anxious to learn about their religion.
Umm Sulaym came to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: O Messenger of God, a woman sees what a man sees in her dream. Umm Salamah said: You have disgraced women, O Umm Sulaym. He said: If she sees that, let her wash herself. Umm Salamah said: Do women have water? He said: Yes, they are the twin halves of men.
meaning: If she sees the emission of water that requires ghusl, then let her perform ghusl, indicating her ritual impurity due to a wet dream, and ghusl.
جاءت أمُّ سُلَيمٍ إلى رسولِ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ فقالت يا رسولَ اللَّهِ المرأةُ ترى ما يرى الرَّجلُ في المنامِ فقالت أمُّ سلمةَ فضحتِ النِّساءَ يا أمَّ سُليمٍ فقال إذا رأت ذلِك فلتغتسلْ فقالت أمُّ سلمةَ وَهل للنِّساءِ من ماءٍ قال نعم إنَّما هنَّ شقائقُ الرِّجالِ
This hadith says: “Umm Sulaym came,” meaning Sahla bint Milhan, the Ansari, the mother of Anas ibn Malik, “to the Prophet Muhammed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: O Messenger of Allah, a woman sees what a man sees in her sleep,” meaning: she sees in her sleep the appearance of intercourse, and that semen has come out of her, and she finds wetness like that which a man finds. “Umm Salamah,” the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “You have disgraced women, O Umm “Saleem!”
This is because she shared something about them that they would be ashamed to describe them with, and they kept it; that is, the release of semen from them indicates the intensity of their desire for men, so the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “If she sees that, then let her perform ghusl,”
Umm Salamah asked, “Do women have water?” In other words, do women have water that ejaculates similarly to men’s semen? The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Yes, they are the sisters of men.” That is, women and men are similar in terms of the rules they follow. This is an implication from him, may God bless him and grant him peace, that women, like men, have wet dreams and ejaculate semen. However, because of his modesty, he did not express this directly; may God bless him and grant him peace.
Because the woman understood the intended meaning and mentioned and stated what she was asking about regarding seeing the water of a wet dream, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, answered her in the affirmative, and that the woman is like the man.
Now you know a lot about women praying in Islam and their conditions and when Allah exempts them from praying, and if you find this article interesting you also may like to know What is Alhamdulillah meaning and When to say it.
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