WOMEN Attending Prayer IN MOSQUE
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind.
We are not going to discuss the validity of invalidity of any position. We simply want to present the Ahadith for respective position.
We will discuss under following headings.
1 Ahadith in support of permission for ladies to the mosque.
2. Ahadith that proves that it has been disliked for ladies to offer prayers in the mosque.
3. Specific Situation If a sister was travelling and was out of the house due to a need, and the time for prayer came in, what would she do?
Ahadith in support of ladies Prayer in the Mosque.
Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:
“If your wives seek permission from you to go to the Mosque at night, let them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 827)
And:
Salim narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “If the wife of any one of you seeks permission to go to the Mosque, he may not prevent her.” (Sahih Muslim, no: 442)
These Ahadith are pointing certain facts.
1.These are not direct command/order for women to go Mosque.
2.That if the wife ask for this her husband should give permission and should not object.
Ahadith supporting that it has been disliked for ladies to offer prayers in the mosque.
Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) said:
“If the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was alive to see what women are doing now (in A’isha’s time), he would surely have prevented them from attending the prayers in the Mosque just as the women of Banu Isra’il were prevented.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) in many Hadiths encouraged women to offer their prayers at home:
The First Hadith:
حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي دَاوُدُ بْنُ قَيْسٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ عَمَّتِهِ أُمِّ حُمَيْدٍ امْرَأَةِ أَبِي حُمَيْدٍ السَّاعِدِيِّ، أَنَّهَا جَاءَتِ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَتْ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، إِنِّي أُحِبُّ الصَّلَاةَ مَعَكَ، قَالَ: ” قَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّكِ تُحِبِّينَ الصَّلَاةَ مَعِي، وَصَلَاتُكِ فِي بَيْتِكِ خَيْرٌ لَكِ مِنْ صَلَاتِكِ فِي حُجْرَتِكِ، وَصَلَاتُكِ فِي حُجْرَتِكِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَلَاتِكِ فِي دَارِكِ، وَصَلَاتُكِ فِي دَارِكِ خَيْرٌ لَكِ مِنْ صَلَاتِكِ فِي مَسْجِدِ قَوْمِكِ، وَصَلَاتُكِ فِي مَسْجِدِ قَوْمِكِ خَيْرٌ لَكِ مِنْ صَلَاتِكِ فِي مَسْجِدِي “، قَالَ: فَأَمَرَتْ فَبُنِيَ لَهَا مَسْجِدٌ فِي أَقْصَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ بَيْتِهَا وَأَظْلَمِهِ، فَكَانَتْ تُصَلِّي فِيهِ حَتَّى لَقِيَتِ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ
On the authority of Umm Humayd, who came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I love to pray with you.” He replied, “I know that you love to pray with me. However, your prayer in your storage room is better than your prayer in your bedroom; your prayer in your bedroom is better than your prayer in your courtyard; your prayer in your courtyard is better than your prayer in the prayer area of your relatives; and your prayer in the prayer area of your relatives is better than your prayer in my mosque.” So she ordered that a prayer-place be built for her in the furthest and darkest part of her house, and she always prayed there until she met Allah.
The Second Hadith:
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ الْمُثَنَّى أَنَّ عَمْرَو بْنَ عَاصِمٍ حَدَّثَهُمْ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ عَنْ مُوَرِّقٍ عَنْ أَبِي الْأَحْوَصِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ
عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ صَلَاةُ الْمَرْأَةِ فِي بَيْتِهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلَاتِهَا فِي حُجْرَتِهَا وَصَلَاتُهَا فِي مَخْدَعِهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلَاتِهَا فِي بَيْتِهَا
Abdullah b. Mas`ud narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A woman’s prayer in her bedroom is better than her prayer in her courtyard; and her prayer in her storage room is better than her prayer in her bedroom.”
Third Hadith
The report of Umm Humayd is not the only evidence that suggests that the prayer of a woman is superior in her home. Here is another text that clearly shows that the ruling applies to the generality of women:
عن ابن عمر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا تمنعوا نساءكم المساجد وبيوتهن خير لهن
Abdullah b. Umar reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Do not prevent your women from [attending] mosques. Yet, their homes are better for them.”
Ibn Hajar says in Fath al-Bari: “It was related by Abu Dawud and declared sahih by Ibn Khuzayma.” It was also related by Hakim, who said it meets the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim, and Dhahabi agreed. Nawawi declared it sahih in his Majmu`, saying it meets the criteria of Bukhari, and Albani graded it sahih in Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib.
(As Shaikh Albani has graded it Sahih the Salafi Brothers should also get satisfied with the authenticity of Hadith)
Sahabas View on the matter
Umar Raziallahu Anhu Views.
(There is an Hadith in Bukhari about Shareef about the knowledge of Hazarat Umar Raziallahu Anhu that he has been specially blessed with knowledge.So a muslim should not ignore Hazrat Umar R.A. understanding.)
From Abd al-Razaq (thiqa) from Mu’amr (thabi) from al-Zuhri (tahbit faqih) that ‘Atika, the wife of ‘Umar, used to pray in the mosque and he told her,
“By Allah, you know that I don’t like this.” She replied, “I will not stop unless you stop me.” He responded, “Indeed, I will not stop you.” On a side not, she was in the masjid when he was stabbed (May Allah be pleased with them). In another narration from al-Bukhari in his Sahih, “What kept him from doing that was the Prophet’s words, “Don’t forbid women from the masjid of Allah.” (1/305)
Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) said:
“If the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was alive to see what women are doing now (in A’isha’s time), he would surely have prevented them from attending the prayers in the Mosque just as the women of Banu Isra’il were prevented.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
Narrated Abu Amr Al Shaibani that he saw Abdullah ibn Masud put the women out of the mosque at friday prayer saying to them, “Go back to your homes that is better for you.”
Majma Zawaid 2119 (2/47), Haythami said narrators are utterly reliable.
CONCLUSION
1.So as per the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah PBUH and the Sunnah of His Companions we can permit women going to mosques but at the same time we should discouraged them going to mosque and tell them that their houses are better for them.
2.So if our Prophet PBUH recommended something which is “better” for women, then women should opt this option instead of choosing the option which is “not better”.
3.If any lady ask for going in mosque her husband should first present her all the Ahadith and try to persude that Prophet has liked that she should pray at home. But if she still persist then he should not prevent her and should give permission.
Specific Situation If a sister was travelling and was out of the house due to a need, and the time for prayer came in, what would she do?
1.Some Brothers become very strict in condemning those who talk about permission for ladies in the mosque and consider it very severe Fitnah.This trend is not conductive.
Responding to this trend one scholar of piety and knowledge once said:
“We don’t mind women frequenting the most disliked of places in the sight of Allah (abghad al-Bilad) which are the bazaars (aswaq), but we have a major problem with women coming to the most beloved of places (ahab al-Bilad) in the sight of Allah, which are the Mosques!
(In response to such strictness Some ill hearted people may make it an issue and ignite womenfolk for rebellion like situation.And ignite general muslims agaist Ulemas and scholars.)
2.Secondly, at times there may be a genuine need for women to go to the Mosques, such as when travelling and the prayer time is about to come to an end. There have been many cases where a sister had to miss her prayer, for there were no facilities for women to pray in the Mosque.
At times, women may need to go to the Mosque to learn sacred knowledge of Islam, attend a spiritual gathering and other such matters, hence she may need to pray her Salat in the Mosque.(Specially where muslim population is less)
There are two Extremes But “The best of ways is the middle way”:
1.Some people are quite extreme in their support and encouragement for women attending congregational prayers to the point that they consider women who wish to pray at home to be deprived of the blessings and benefits of praying in the Mosque.
2.In some Mosques, (In the west) on the occasion of Eid and other celebrations, women and men dress like they are attending some sort of a fashion show, with the women dressed up in all their make up and powerful fragrance.
This was actually what Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with them both) were thinking of when they prevented women from going to the Mosques.
Other Extreme
1.We see that some people are quite extreme in preventing women from attending the Mosques that they don’t even have a designated place for women to pray.
2.If a sister was travelling and was out of the house due to a need, and the time for prayer came in, what would she do?
3.In many cases, women are forced into knocking on people’s doors to allow them to pray. If they are unsuccessful, they have no choice but to miss their prayers. This is another form of extremism which should be avoided.
1.The middle way is that women should be encouraged to offer their regular prayers at home, and not come to the Mosque habitually without having a need to do so.
2.At the same time, every Masjid should have facilities for a woman’s prayer area, so that if a sister is travelling she is able to make Wudu and offer her prayers without having to miss her prayers altogether.
3.In the case of women coming to the Mosque, extreme care and precaution should be taken of observing the rules of Hijab, so that there is no fear of any Fitna.
4.Both brothers and sisters should have separate entrances, and open intermingling of the two genders must be avoided.
5.Ultimately, the main objective of the slave, male or female, is to seek the pleasure of Allah Most High and not satisfy one’s own desire and wish. Hence, one should be content with the command of Allah Most High and His beloved Messenger (Allah bless him & give him peace) whether it suits one or otherwise. Therefore, Muslim women should understand that praying at home is just as equal in the sight of Allah to men praying in the Mosque. May Allah Almighty give us all the true understanding of Deen, Ameen
And Allah knows best
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