Ladies Should Not Attend the Mosque

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدى يا رسول الله وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدى يا نور الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Addressing the sacred wives, radi Allahu anhunna, of the Holy Prophet, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, Allah, subhanahu wa ta’la says:

وَقَرۡنَ فِیۡ بُیُوۡتِکُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجۡنَ تَبَرُّجَ الۡجَاہِلِیَّۃِ الۡاُوۡلٰی

And stay in your houses and do not show off yourselves like the showing off of the former days of ignorance

(Surah 33, Ayah 33)

Although the address is to the Mothers of the Believers, radi Allahu anhunna, the guidance here is intended for the generality of the believing women too. No one will deny that although Allah addresses the Mothers of the Believers with the command to:

وَّقُلۡنَ قَوۡلًا مَّعۡرُوۡفًا

Speak a decent speech

(Surah 33, Ayah 32)

but that this is intended for the generality of the believing women too. Therefore, Allah, subhanahu wa ta’la, has plainly forbidden all the believing women from Tabarruj.

As for the issue of Muslimat attending the Masjid, this has become controversial especially in our time. The Holy Prophet, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, said:

صَلاَةُ الْمَرْأَةِ فِي بَيْتِهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلاَتِهَا فِي حُجْرَتِهَا وَصَلاَتُهَا فِي مَخْدَعِهَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَلاَتِهَا فِي بَيْتِهَا ‏

The Salah of the woman in her house is better than her Salah in her courtyard, and her Salah in her bedroom is better than in her house (Sunan Abi Dawud)

لاَ تَمْنَعُوا نِسَاءَكُمُ الْمَسَاجِدَ وَبُيُوتُهُنَّ خَيْرٌ لَهُنَّ

Do not prevent your women from the Mosques, but their houses are better for them (ibid)

Now in the blessed time of the Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, the ladies of the Believers used to pray in the Masjid, in the furthest back rows, with the rows of the pre-pubescent children in the middle separating them from the rows of men in the front praying behind the Prophet, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam. The reason for this phenomenon was so that they could acquire the special blessing of offering congregational Salah led by the Prophet himself, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam. They also strictly complied with the conditions permitting women to enter the public space especially the Masjid, such as avoiding perfume, being fully veiled and not freely mingling with the opposite sex. But shortly after the Prophet, sall Allahu alaihi wasallam, passed away from this provisional abode, it was observed that the Muslimat had become somewhat lax in the observance of these conditions and so the jurists of the Hanafi school in particular opined that ladies should no longer attend the Mosques. In many if not most of the Mosques constructed since then accommodations have not been arranged for ladies to enter the Mosque, such as a designated area for them, etc. And due to proper tarbiyah and prevailing social norms the Muslimat themselves, especially those of the Hanafi school, do not ask to go the Mosque. In many Muslim countries, especially where the Hanafi school is traditionally established, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is unheard of for women to express a desire to attend the Mosque. They are raised in a culture and society where it is understood that Mosques are for men and that ladies offer their Salah in the seclusion of their homes. This phenomenon is truly the one that accords to the spirit of Islam and its Shari’ah. Orthodox, pure Islam certainly desires a society and culture where women are virtually invisible in the public space and there is no trace of Tabarruj. A society in which women are casually frequenting the Mosque is one that is certainly imperfect and requires a lot of rectification and reform.

However, with the onset of the tribulation of Salafi modernism and to an extent the so-called Ahl-ul-Hadith who are in favor of non-conformity (la madhhabiyah) the controversy over ladies attending the Mosque has heated up. In this controversy the Salafis are in agreement with the undesirable elements of the Ummah, namely, the modernists, reformists, liberals and feminists. But those that have wisdom and insight can clearly perceive the superiority of the light of traditional, orthodox Sunni Islam, especially as manifested in the Hanafi school, with regard to this and other controversies that relate to women’s issues.