Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question: What is the difference between a man’s and a woman’s prayer in the Hanafi school? Would it be invalid for a man to pray like a woman, or vice versa?
Answer: In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
The differences between how a man and woman pray relate to optimality, not validity.
In short:
a) When standing, women place their hands on their chests;
b) In bowing, they bow only slightly, enough for their hands to reach their knees, while keeping arms close to their bodies;
c) In prostration, they keep their body close together, rather than spreading out, with arms on the ground;
d) In the sitting, it is best for them to keep both legs on the right of the body.
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani