Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The woman's prayer: specifics and concessions
What is common and what is specific in the woman's prayer: position, clothing, mosque, and suspension during menses.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
The woman prays with the same gestures and the same times as the man; the specificities concern the clothing and the place in the rows.
Allah commands: "wear your adornment at every prayer" (7:31). 'Aisha reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
Allah does not accept the prayer of a menstruating woman without a head-cover.
Abu Dawud 641, at-Tirmidhi 377
The jurists generalize the rule: the praying woman's body must be covered, except the face and, according to the majority, the hands. The veil is not a comfort option: it belongs to the conditions of the prayer's clothing.
What if a woman stands in the men's row? Two views are reported.
The Hanafis and one way of Ahmad: her prayer remains valid, but the prayer of the man at her right, at her left, behind her or beside her is spoiled.
The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: her prayer and everyone's remain valid; 'Aisha narrates that she would pass in front of the Prophet while he prayed, even lying asleep at his side, without him invalidating his prayer.
The woman prays in covering clothing, behind the men's rows when she prays at the mosque, and her prayer at home is fully valid. The ease lies on the side of the home: the woman's prayer at her house is never a shortcoming.
Al-Hawi al-Kabir by al-Mawardi · Shafi'i school
Chapter: the prayer position of the follower with the imam. Al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "If a man leads a man in prayer, the follower stands at his right; and if it is an ambiguous hermaphrodite or a woman, each of the two stands alone behind him. And it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led Anas and an old woman in prayer, she alone behind Anas."
Al-Mawardi said: this is correct: when a man leads a man, the Sunnah is that the follower stands at the imam's right, and this is the view of most jurists.