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Is it permissible for a woman to pray behind the Imam while she is sitting in the wilderness, or at the airport, or in public places, or in non-Muslim countries, whether alone or as part of a group?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A woman may follow her husband or any other man in prayer if he is fit to lead, and this ruling applies generally in all places. As for a woman praying while seated, this is permissible if there is a valid excuse, such as an illness that prevents standing or makes standing extremely difficult to bear. Otherwise, it is not permissible, because standing is a pillar of prayer that is not waived except with an excuse.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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