Women's Salaah

Q: I have read the book regarding womens salaah and would like clarity on a few issues. Please provide proofs from Quraan, hadith and the imaams jazakallah.

1) Why should a women place her hands on her chest in qiyaam?

2) Why should a women only touch her knees with her finger tips for ruku? The hadith that mentions the thief in salaat clearly says that its one who doesn't complete the postures. A women who just touches her knees in ruku is definitely not completing her ruku.

3) Why should a women place her elbows on the ground in sajda? The Ahaadith clearly instruct us not to prostrate like dogs and place our elbows on the ground, they can still draw their bodies close and keep the elbows off the ground.

Q: Should a female sit in tashahud with her right leg over the left leg and right foot over the left?

Q: During Ramdhaan in the Haramain both at Makkah and Madinah they conduct Tahajjud namaaz in Jamaath during the last 10 days from 1 am to 2.30 am. Following this now a days the same method is being followed in mosques in our country (India) as well and also women participate in this congregation but of course in a enclosure segregated for women. Also now a days women attend Jummah namaaz in mosques on a regular basis. Please give your expert option on these two issues.

Q: Should women read salaah at awwal waqt or at the same time the jamaat is in the masjid?

Q: Please tell me what is the correct way of doing sajdah for hanafi mazhab sunni muslim women? Some say there is no difference in the way of doing sajdah between men and women and some say that the elbows of the women should touch the ground and a woman should contract her body during sajdah. Please tell me what is the correct way of doing sajdah.

Q: If I am offering salaah wearing a full sleeved shirt, is it permissible to wear a thin dupatta for salaah if it is too colourful that hardly could be seen through.

Q: Is it compulsory for a female to cover her hands up to the wrists during Salaah i.e. the area of the hands from the fingers till the wrists?

Q: Are hanafi ladies supposed to cover the area between the throat and chin which normally remains exposed with a normal burqa? Normally some people have a double chin in that area. The Malaysian and Thailand girls of our Madrassah who were shafi'i would wear a special burqa to cover that part.

Q: Does the wrist and ankle of a woman have to be covered in Salaah?

Q: Is it a problem if, while I am performing salaah at home and my husband is also performing some salaah separately, but he stands behind me. Not directly behind me but behind the line I am standing in? Please advise.