Source: Fatāwā Rāshidiyyah, p. 321
❖ Question
Is there any difference between the prayer of men and women?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The Noble Ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ states:
((انما النساء شقائق الرجال))
— Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Bāb al-Marʾah Tarā Mā Yarā al-Rajul, Ḥadīth no. 236
“Women are counterparts of men in religious rulings.”
❖ Explanation
◈ The meaning of this ḥadīth is that women are bound by the same rulings as men.
◈ However, in those matters where Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ have specified separate rulings for men and women, there will be a distinction.
◈ In all other matters and practices, women are to act in the same way as men.
❖ Regarding Prayer
◈ Apart from the state of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, prayer is obligatory upon women just as it is upon men.
◈ Women are to perform prayer in the exact same manner as men do.
◈ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not specify any difference in the method of prayer between men and women.
◈ Therefore, it is not permissible to introduce differences in prayer based on personal opinions or assumptions.
❖ Identification of Wrong Practice
◈ Women must pray in the same manner as men, and there is no valid evidence for any distinction contrary to this.
◈ For the Ḥanafīs, this is not surprising, as they are bound to imitation (taqlīd).
◈ However, it is both saddening and astonishing that some women among Ahl al-Ḥadīth perform a style of prayer that has no basis in the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
◈ According to Qur’ān and Sunnah, the correct position is that women should pray exactly like men.
◈ Any difference in the method of prayer is merely a human innovation without any Sharʿī foundation.
ھذا ما عندی واللہ أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold, and Allah knows best what is correct.
