Some scholars have said that if no men are present with her, she says, “Subhan Allah,” just as men do. This is because saying “Subhan Allah” is a form of remembrance whose very kind is prescribed in prayer, unlike clapping, which is an act whose very kind is not prescribed in prayer. A woman resorts to it when men are present because it better safeguards her and is further removed from temptation.

The evidence for this issue is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Whoever is troubled by something in his prayer should say, ‘Subhan Allah,’ for when he says it, attention will be drawn to him. Clapping is only for women.” (1) In a wording recorded by Muslim: “Hand-clapping is only for women.” (2)

If we consider the general wording of the hadith, we would say that its apparent meaning makes no distinction between whether men are present with the woman or not. But if we reflect upon it, we would say instead that the apparent meaning of the hadith is that this applies when the woman is with men, because he said: “Let the men say, ‘Subhan Allah,’ and let the women clap.” (3) Thus, the matter concerns men and women being together: the role of the men is to say, “Subhan Allah,” and the role of the women is to clap. The issue admits of both interpretations. Whoever considers the apparent generality of the wording says that she should clap, while whoever considers the apparent meaning of the context says that this is when men are present with her—especially if the reasoning we mentioned is taken into account: namely, that saying “Subhan Allah” is a form of remembrance whose very kind is prescribed in prayer, unlike clapping.

If it is asked: Why was drawing attention prescribed by saying “Subhan Allah” rather than by another form of remembrance?