Women praying Salah in Congregation at Masjid

Question

Assalamualykum

Is it haram for the women to go to masjid? Or it is better for them to pray at home? Does it have anything to do with their respective ages as well?

I am quite sure I had a reference of Hanafi fiqh books saying that women are allowed in masjid I don’t remember the conditions though the reference was given to me by my Arab teacher who is a Shafii Mufti however he has studied the Hanafi fiqh so when we were talking this point came up naturally I know what AlaHazrat Alaih Rehmah has taught us and then the rest happened and he checked the books and gave me references if I get them soon I will provide. Can you please clarify the above in light of what I mentioned?

Please guide Mawlana Sahab

Answer

Waalaykumussalam.

In the Hanafi madhhab it is prohibitively disliked [Makruh e Tahrimi] for women to attend the Masjid to pray Salah in congregation. It is better and preferred for them to pray Salah at home, as stated in the Hadith,

“The best places of prayer for women are the innermost parts of their houses.” [Musnad of Ahmad 6:297]

It was narrated that Sayyidah A’ishah said:

“If the Messenger of Allah had lived to see how women have started to behave, he would have prevented them [from going to the Masjid] as the women of the Children of Israel were prevented.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

It is stated in the general books of mutoon:

“And it is disliked for women to attend the congregation.” [Qudoori, Kanz al-Daqaiq etc.]

It is stated in Tanwir al-Absar:

“It is unconditionally [mutlaqan] disliked for them (women) to attend the congregation, according to the preferred stance of the maddhab [mufta bihi].”

It is stated in commentary of this in al-Durr al-Mukhtar:

“It is unconditionally disliked for them to attend the congregation, even if it is Jumu’ah, Eid or a lecture, even if it is an old woman at night. This is the preferred stance [mufta bihi] due to the evils of the time.”

The karahat is Tahrimi, as stated in Gunyah al-Mustamli. [Page 595]

Although the books of mutoon have explicitly stated that old women can attend the Masjid for congregation of Fajr, Maghrib and Isha according to al-Imam al-A’zam, and according to the Sahibayn, they can attend all prayers, however, the latter scholars [muta’akhireen] clarified that due to the pervasiveness of fitna in our times, all women – regardless of age and regardless of the time of the prayer – are categorically prohibited from attending the congregation in the Masjid, as stated in al-Bahr al-Raiq, al-Nahr al-Faiq, al-Inayah, al-Gunyah al-Mustamli, Radd al-Muhtar and other reliable books of Hanafi Fiqh.

Allamah Muhaqqiq ibn al-Humam states:

“The latter scholars have universally prohibited all women, young or old from attending any Salah, as there is [now] prevalence of corruption at all times.” [Fath al-Qadeer 1:317]

It is stated in al-Inayah:

“Our scholars used this (the Hadith of A’isha cited above) as proof and completely prohibited young women from going [to the Masjid]. As for old women, Imam Abu Hanifa prohibited them from attending Zuhr and Asr, and permitted them to attend Fajr, Maghrib and Isha. [However] nowadays, the Fatwa is that it is [also] disliked for them (old women) to attend any Salah, due to the appearance of fitna.” [Al-Inayah 1:317]

It is stated by Allamah Ayni:

“The author of Hidayah said, it is disliked for women to attend the congregation. The commentators have stated, the meaning is (it is disliked) for young women. ‘Congregation’ includes all [prayers]: Jumu’ah, two Eids, eclipse prayers, Istisqa prayers… Our scholars have stated that the reason for prohibition is that in their going [to the Masjid], there is a fear of fitna and the cause of Haram, and that which leads to Haram, is also Haram. His (author of Hidayah’s) statement of ‘Makruh’ means Haram, especially in this day and age, because of the commonness of corruption in people.” [Umdat al-Qari fi Sharh al-Bukhari 6:156]

Therefore, the latter scholars prohibited all women from attending any Salah in the Masjid, due to the upsurge of fitna in our times, and this position of theirs is the preferred stance in the Hanafi Madhhab as expounded above and Allah knows best.

Muhammad Kalim
27th Ramadan Sharif

The answer is correct. This rule safeguards the privacy of women and has also relieved them from a huge burden. It is an absolute law that one must be physically in the state of Ghusl when entering the Masjid and if women were ordered to attend the congregational prayers then during the days they are on their menstrual cycle, their absence would expose their privacy. To leave one’s daily work and attend the congregation can be a burden that is unbearable for women especially those who have children and therefore this law is a concession for women rather than a restriction.

It is incorrect to assume that this law claims that women are the cause of fitnah as fitnah can be caused by the men as well as the women. It is correct that in the time of the Messenger ﷺ, women were not only permitted but encouraged at one point to attend the congregation especially for the Friday, however, the second caliph, Ameer Al-Mu’mineen Sayyiduna Umar, Allah is pleased with him, prohibited this based on the principles and laws that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had left behind as guidelines which was confirmed by Sayyidah A’ishah the leader of women in knowledge and wisdom, Allah is pleased with her. It is also correct that many women are pious and their piety surpasses the piety of many men and that many women are such that men are not attracted towards them but the principle of Shari’ah states,

“The rules of Shariah are based on the overwhelming”

And the overwhelming general state of human life is that men and women are naturally attracted towards each other. Therefore the law is that it is impermissible for women to attend the daily congregation for Salah. Some people object that if women are allowed to attend the market places to buy necessities of livelihood then why not to the Masjid for the Salah congregation. The answer to that is that it is clear how many fitan occur in the market places and shopping centres and we do not wish to bring them fitan in to the Masjid as the Masjid is a place of physical and spiritual purity where one must be completely focussing on Allah and his consciousness should be devoted to Allah and the sight of women for men and the sight of men for women would potentially cause a huge distraction and Allah knows best.

Zahid Hussain Al-Qadiri
(Beggar at the doorstep of Scholars)
8th Shawwal 1436 AH