بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
📝 Have you as a Muslimah ever tried praying anywhere at a large shopping mall here in the Philippines? If so, where exactly did you pray and did you ask the permission of one of the employees if you can perform Salah/prayer there? Alhamdulillah I recall asking if we could pray at one of the fitting rooms in Terranova store at SM Lanang mall here in Davao city and numerous times the saleswomen were okay with us praying there for around 10 or 15 minutes. At Ayala Malls Abreeza however when we tried to ask if we could pray near one of the quiet corners at one of their customers' lounges (family lounge), the female employee declined our request to pray there despite the lounge not being crowded at all and claimed that they don't have a specific spot for Muslims to pray in the lounges yet they're okay with Muslims praying in other areas around the shopping mall. I also inquired another female employee at a beauty salon if we could pray inside and if they could switch off the radio or device playing loud music while we would pray and she seemed okay with the request but told me she had to first ask the salon's manager if non-customers are allowed to use their space for praying. After attempting to contact her manager who accordingly didn't answer her call, probably due to busyness or choice to momentarily disconnect from communicating to reduce her stress levels, she apologized but also mentioned earlier how she recalls one of her female clients praying around 6 PM or Salat Al-Maghreb time and they actually let her pray for a few minutes while they switched off the loud music until she was done praying. I believe there's a possibility that they could've permitted us to pray in their salon if we were also customers. Like that one time I went to Bench store and while paying at the counter I asked the female manager if it's alright to use their fitting room for praying and she asked how long it would take to pray, she informed me that it's okay to use that space for praying on condition it wouldn't take too long (to avoid causing inconvenience to other customers who need to use the fitting room for trying on some clothes). Anyhow, Alhamdulillah, there are a number of decent places around shopping malls where you can perform your obligatory prayer in case you're not yet done with your shopping so you can just pray at home. One can
Inn-sha-Allah pray near staircases, elevators, emergency exits, closed stores or near balconies. Otherwise they can simply go to the nearest Masjid or Islamic center then return to the mall if they still have other tasks to complete and if their budget is sufficient for additional transportation.
One tip I can Inn-sha-Allah share, besides carrying a shawl or long rectangular hijab/veil as a prayer mat and umbrella as a sutrah (barrier to place in front of you when praying) with you when going outdoors, is: If there are two or three of you, it is much better if one of you attentively watches the bags and belongings instead of not assigning anybody to monitor the bags because there may be some strangers who could be tempted to steal wallets or even random items like one time back in Riyadh Saudi Arabia I remember my dear mother (Allah yarhamha. Ameen.) if I'm not mistaken one or some of her belongings were stolen when we were all praying near some windows while waiting for our flight. Some people have terrible upbringing or lack moral values so they feel the need to steal from others if they're that poor or unethical.
AstaghfurAllah Al-'Atheem.
It would be nice Inn-sha-Allah if at least one room can be designated for praying inside some shopping malls like back in Saudi Arabia there are Musallas/prayer rooms in many establishments.
I wonder how Muslim salespeople in the Philippines at shopping malls cope with maintaining their obligatory prayers - do they regularly pray on time or do they combine some prayers and delay praying them until they reach home? It is safer as a Muslim to avoid jobs that can cause one's prayers to be delayed on a regular basis, unless they can request their employers to allow them to take a break for a few minutes whenever it's time to pray the obligatory Salah.
https://abukhadeejah.com/five-prayers-islam-importance-salah/
