Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asalamu 'Alaikum Brother Burhan

I'd like to know:

1)Is it compulsory for the men and women to pray salah seperately (e.g. men at front women at back) in the masjid and at home. Is this fard or is this sunnah

2)If so does it make a difference wheather it is your relation your praying with.

3)When praying with a single female relation must you stand about one footstep infront of them.

Chisaakah-Allah.  May Allah reward you for giving the time and effort to answer peoples questions and queries.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Is it compulsory for men and women to pray separately?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1) Is it compulsory for the men and women to pray salah seperately (e.g. men at front women at back) in the masjid and at home. Is this fard or is this Sunnah.

Islam propagates the complete segregation of sexes … thus it is obligatory that men and women pray separately from each other when they are in the mosques, or when praying with non-mehram women at home.

Q-2) If so does it make a difference wheather it is your relation your praying with.

If the man is leading the prayer at home, then it is preferred that he should stand at least a couple of feet ahead of the mehram women he is leading in prayer… The distance must be so much that they are not visible to him when he is in prayer and happens to glance on either side.

But if the women he is leading in prayer are non-mehram, then it is best to have a barrier or a big distance between the two.

Q-3) When praying with a single female relation must you stand about one footstep infront of them.

When a man is leading the prayer, it is best that the women (only if they are mehram) pray right behind him, giving an approximate minimum distance of 3-4 feet… basically enough distance that if the man who is leading the prayer happens to glance on either side, the women are not visible to him while in the state of prayer. It does not matter if it is one female mehram, or more; the distance should be minimum 3-4 feet or enough for the woman to make their prostration behind the mehram-man leading the prayer.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan