Salaah of a woman in public.
Q. If a woman is in public and the time for salaah has come, could you explain to me how and where should she pray her salaah, eg. in the beach or in public schools. In such a case will it be permissible for her to pray in a car sitting facing the direction of the ka’bah?
A. In the above mentioned case, a woman must look for a private/secluded area to perform her Salaah. It will not be permissible for her to sit in the car while facing the Qibla and perform her Salaah.
Q. I attend evening classes and there are no private places in the school as all the rooms are occupied and there are always men around. What should I do in such a case when salaah comes? Will it be permissible for me to pray there or not considering the situation?
A. The Prophet (S.A.S) said the best place for women to perform Salaah is in the innermost part of her house. Even when the women companions visited the mosque at the time of the Prophet (S.A.S), they were placed behind the men and would leave the mosque before the men got up from their places in Salaah. It is therefore clear that a woman is required to perform salaah in such a manner that the gazes of those who are ghair Mahram (non relatives and strangers) do not fall on her. It will be even more serious for non muslims to stare at her when she is performing Salaah.
With these guidelines, you must try to find a private area to perform your Salaah, even if you have to move to a close-by mosque. If nothing can be done, then it means that you have to adjust your times for classes in order to perform your Salaah properly.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Waseem Khan