The Woman’s Posture in Prayer

Question:
And in any case, a woman should be more modest, with less movement.

Answer:
Yes, the scholars have stated that a woman should draw herself in, contracting her posture in prayer, and not spread her limbs, because she is an awrah (part of the body that must be covered). So she draws her hands in to her sides and draws herself in. They said this is considered so because she is an awrah, and because a mursal (a report missing the Companion link) hadith was reported in al-Bayhaqi that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw two women praying and ordered them to draw themselves in. Many scholars of knowledge held this view. Some scholars, however, hold that there is no difference between the prayer of a woman and the prayer of a man, so the woman does of the sunnah (recommended practice) what the man does, including spreading the limbs during prostration and sitting for the tashahhud (the testification recited while sitting in prayer).