Salah Of The Women is not like that of the Men

The Shafi'i Madhhab

Imam al-Nawawi (631 - 676 H), the great Shafi'i muhaqqiq, said:

قال الشافعي رحمه الله فى المختصر: ولا فرق بين الرجال والنساء في عمل الصلاة، إلا أن المرأة يستحب لها أن تضم بعضها إلى بعض وأن تلصق بطنها بفخذيها فى السجود كأستر ما يكون، وأحب ذلك فى الركوع وفي جميع الصلاة، وأن تكثف جلبابها وتجافيه راكعة وساجدة لئلا يصفها ثيابها، وأن تخفض صوتها وإن نابها شيء في صلاتها صفقت، هذا نصه.

قال أصحابنا: المرأة كالرجل في أركان الصلاة وشروطها وأبعاضها وأما الهيئات المسنونات فهي كالرجل في معظمها وتخالفه فيما ذكره الشافعي، وىخالف النساء الرجال في صلاة الجماعة في أشياء...


"Al-Shafi'i - may Allah have mercy on him - said in al-Mukhtasar: 'There is no distinction between men and women in the actions of Salah, except that it is preferable for the woman that part of her clings to a part, and her stomach clings to her thighs in prostration in a manner that is most concealing (for her), and I prefer this in bowing and in the entire Salah; and that she makes her jilbab thick and she separates it (from her body) while bowing and prostrating so that her clothing does not describe her (i.e. her shape and form); and that she lowers her voice and if something occurs to her in her Salah (while in congregation), she claps (i.e. to alert the imam to the mistake).' This is his (i.e. al-Shafi'i's) statement.


"Our companions said: The woman is like the man in the integrals of Salah, its conditions and its parts. As for the prescribed postures, she is like the man in most of them and she differs from him in what al-Shafi'i mentioned. And women differ from men in congregational prayer in some things..." (al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, 3:495)
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Because many people use the Hadith about prostrating like a dog. Here is a Hadith and an expalanation of it too. Note, that womens Sajdah "IS" different from the men.

[quote]The Sunnah in sujood is to be level in sujood, as it was narrated from Anas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "be level in sujood, and none of you should spread his forearms as a dog spreads them." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 788; Muslim, 493).

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah preserve him) said:

This means that you should do sujood in a level way, not bunched up tight so that the stomach rests on the thighs and the thighs on the calves, and not stretched out as some people do when they prostrate, so that they are almost lying on their fronts. Undoubtedly this is a kind of bid'ah and is not Sunnah. It was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from any of the Sahaabah, as far as we know, that a person should stretch out his back in sujood. He should stretch his back in rukoo', but in sujood he should raise his stomach and not stretch it out." (al-Sharh al-Mumti', 3/168).