Women's Salaah

Q: Is it permissible for a woman to read salaah before the call of azaan?

Q: I understand it is not good to travel without valid sharai' reason. However, I had to travel by car to another city because my husband was insisting to take me with him. During safar came time of asar, so he stopped at a gas station. There was an open masjid, where he told me to offer namaz. I did so, and at that time I did not remove my gloves, and kept my veil (which covers face and eyes) on. The reason was that it was an open masjid, and there were gas station's workers around. Is my salah valid, or should I repeat? I didn't feel good praying like this with na-mehram men around, but there was no other option.

Q: Should a woman's forearm rest on the ground in sujood (prostration)?

Q: Can a woman perform salaah in sari and nighty? Is it permissible? What is ruling of Shariah?

Q: Is it compulsory for a women to come and pray in the masjid? Any authentic Hadith for performance and non performance?

Q: What is the method of Salah in Hanafi mathab? I know how to pray but I want to be sure that I am offering salaah correctly or not.

Q: According to the Hanafi and Shaafi mazhabs, is there any condition for women's feet to be covered whilst performing salaah? (E.g covered with socks) or can it be left bare?

Q: I read in your book that women's clothes during salaah can't reveal her body shape. My salaah dress is not tight, however when I go to ruku you can see the shape of the knees, going to sajda – shape of back, in jalsah – shape of knees again as I sit, etc. so the dress is not tight but not very flowing and loose. Is it a problem? I have also question about sleeves of the dress. It is not tight, but not that its very wide, when bending an arm it shows shapes of elbow, etc. is it a problem? In one my abaya a sleeve has a tight ending, around 20 cm from a wrist upwards towards elbow. Is this tight ending a problem from making salah in this abaya? Also, is it ok to make salah in hijab (scarf) or only in khimar is ok, because hijab when wrapped around head looks tight and khimar flows down. At home I make it in khimar (till belly), but outside in hijab (scarf), what is the status of common hijab (scarf) for salah? By the way, even khimar falling down the bosom still shows its shape. Is it ok or we have to wear khimar 3 times bigger our size to have many gathers to hide all possible shapes? Is it what we have to try to achieve in our dress for salah and our khimar? In your book its stated that arms of a woman must be under burqa. I checked burqa in the internet and saw a dress that clothes all face including eyes. Is this the requirement, because it is also written in the book that face can be open? My khimar is till belly and its inconvenient to put hands under it for takbeer. Is it ok to do it on top?

Q: From your book I understood that before and during first takbeer, a woman must look in front of her and only bend her head to look at sajda after takbeer. I look at a wall in my room because it is in front of me, is it correct? Should the head be bent slightly or doesn’t matter the angle? If starting salah looking at sajda place during first takbeer by mistake, does it break salah, require sajda-sawh or nothing of this?

Q:

1. How women must lift her hands during the first takbeer – close to the middle section of her bosom or close to the area near armpits where bosom part starts? Takbeer must be said after hands are up, not during lifting them up, is it correct?

2. When we say takbeer in salaah (women salah) we immediately go to next posture and we finish saying takbeer only after reaching it. How to deal with mistakes that happen sometimes with this, when we are too fast either to say takbeer or to reach the posture or we are just the opposite, to slow? Do we have to repeat salaah or make sajda-sawh or ignore this? I have some salahs where I made such mistakes, what to do about those salahs, repeat them or not?