Why Women Can Go to the Mosque with Evidence
29/07/2019
Women going to mosques is criticized by many Muslim schools of thought and individuals but the textual evidence clearly allowed women to go to the mosques without any restriction.
It is unfortunate to see nowadays that Muslim women across the world in most cases are not allowed to go to a mosque to pray. The prophet (Sal) said,
"If your women ask permission to go to the Masjid at night,permit them to do so"
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
Ibn Umar (Rali) narrated tat the prophet (Sal) said,
"Don not bar women from going to the masjids if they ask to"
(Bukhari)
With clear evidence like above proving that men should not prevent women from going to the mosques, people who follow Madhhabs and individuals have started to prevent women from going to the mosque. Ibn Umar (Rali) said,
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sal) say: ‘Do not prevent your women from going to the mosque if they ask your permission.’" Bilaal ibn ‘Abdullah said, "By Allah, we will prevent them." (Ibn ‘Umar) turned to him and told him off in an unprecedented fashion, saying: "I tell you what the Messenger of Allah (Sal) said, and you say ‘By Allaah, we will prevent them’!!"
(Sahih Muslim)
In the above hadith Ibn Umar (Rali) who was a scholar rebuked the person who vowed to prevent them from entering mosques. All the wrong arguments that are brought forward to prevent women from entering mosques is due to men thinking that women are inferior and secondary human beings and this is why even after there is clear evidence to prove that women can go to the mosque, men try to prvent them by bringing up false excuses and arguments.
One argument is the follish argument that even if a woman is supposed to come to the mosque, she should pray behind a curtain that acts like a partition in the mosque. this partitioning of women from men in the mosque is an innovation(Bidah) because nowhere in the Quran or the authentic hadiths doe it say so. This foolish partition argument is based on a verse in the Quran which is misunderstood. The verse is as follows,, "And when you ask for something, ask them from behind a partition" (Al-Quran-33:53)
This verse was revealed specifically to the wives of the prophet (Sal) and it has nothing to do with preying n the mosques. The next excuse or argument that is brought to discourage women from entering mosques is that they cannot enter if they are wearing perfume. There is evidence that women used to go to mosques by putting on perfume as evident from the below hadith,
It was narrated that ‘Aishah (Rali) said:
"We used to go out with the Prophet (sal) to Makkah, and we would apply perfume to our foreheads when
entering Ihram, then if one of us sweated it would run down her face,
and the Prophet (Sal) would see it but he would not rebuke her."
(Narrated by Abu Dawud-Classed Sahih by Imam Navavi and Sheikh Albani)
Allah (Swt) gives an example of women working in the feilds and going out in the story of Musa (Alahissalam) in the Quran we read the story of prophet Musa (Alahissalam) talking to two women as follows,
"And when he came to the well of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering [their flocks], and he found aside from them two women driving back [their flocks]. He said, "What is your circumstance?" They said, "We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is an old man."(Al Quran-28:23)
I have explained in detail on why women can wear perfume in public.
Click here https://cjislam.weebly.com/why-wearing-perfume-is-not-forbidden-for-women.html to read the full article. The other argument is that the women who intends to go to the mosques should ask for permission from her husband or guardian. This argument is wrong because there is no evidence from the prophet (Sal) stating that women must ask for permission to go to the mosque. There is clear evidence to show to the contrary that women can go out or to the mosque with our t asking permission from her husband or guardian.
"Umar bin `Abdullah wrote to `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Utbah informing him that Subay`ah told him that she had been married to Sa`d bin Khawlah, and he was one of those who participated in the battle of Badr. He died during the Farewell Pilgrimage, while she was pregnant. Soon after his death, she gave birth. When she passed the postnatal term, she beautified herself for those who might propose to her. Abu As-Sanabil bin Ba`kak came to her and said,
`Why do I see you have beautified yourself Do you wish to remarry By Allah, you cannot marry unless four months and ten days have passed.'' Subay`ah said, "When he said that, I dressed myself in the evening and went to Allah's Messenger and asked him about his verdict. He gave me a religious verdict that I was allowed to marry after I had given birth to my child, saying I could marry if I wish.''
(Bukhari and Muslim)
In the above hadith, Subay'ah went out and met the prophet (Sal) and there is no mentioning in this hadith that she sought permission and it is clear that the prophet (Sal) never rebuked her or ask her whether she cane out to speak to him by asking permission from her guardian. Now, let us analyze the next hadith.
Jabir Ibn 'Abdullah (Rali) reported,
" My maternal aunt was divorced, and she intended to pluck her dates [from palm trees]. A person scolded her for having come out (during her waiting period). She came to the Prophet (Sal) and he told her: "Certainly you can pluck (dates) from your palm trees, for perhaps you may give out charity or do an act of kindness."
(Sahih Muslim)
In this hadith the prophet(Sal) allowed a woman who was in Idda to come out and pluck dates and the prophet (Sal) never told her to ask for permission from her male guardian before going out. There are several more hadiths proving this point and even the wives of the prophet(Sal) went out with out seeking permission from the prophet (Sal). If women are supposed to ask for permission from every little thing from her husband. During the time of the prophet (Sal), beautiful girls did visit the mosque and these girls were never turned away from the mosque because their beauty could cause any fitna.
Ibn Abbas (Rali) narrated, "A beautiful woman, from among the most beautiful of women, used to pray behind the Prophet. Some of the people used to go to pray in the first row to ensure they would not be able to see her. Others would pray in the last row of the men, and they would look from underneath their armpits [in rukoo’ and sujood] to see her. Because of this act, in regard to her, Allah revealed, “Verily We know the eager among you to be first, and verily We know the eager among you to be behind.” (Qur’an 15: 24)" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Tayalisi, Baihaqi, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Nasai and i Graded Sahih by Sheikh Albani in Silsila Hadith As saheehah)
In the above hadith a beautiful woman used to pray behind the prophet (Sal) and some of the sahabi used to go behind to look at her while in sujood or rukoo and even in such a scenario the prophet (Sa) never told this beautiful woman to not come to the mosque but nowadays if that happens, then surely he woman would be blamed and she would have been banned to come to the mosque telling that she is a cause of temptation. I would lime ask such people , What do they know more on temptation which the messenger of Allah(Sal) dis not know? There was an incidence of rape recorded in one hadith and even in such a scenario, the prophet (Sal never told women to stay in their houses .
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr,
"When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (Sal) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her. She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Messenger of Allah (Sal). When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said: Messenger of Allah, I am the man who did it to her. He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (Abu Dawud said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: Stone him to death. He also said: He has repented to such an extent that if the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have been accepted from them.
(Abu Dawud-Graded Hasan Sahih by Albani)
In the above hadith It is clear that even when a woman was raped while her way to the mosque, the prophet (Sal) did not ban women like nowadays from going to mosques. Some try to argue that the houses are better for women than the mosques. The argument is based on one of the few hadiths as mentioned below,
Umm Humayd, the wife of Abu Humayd al-Saa‘idi reported that she came to the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) and said,
"O Messenger of Allaah, I love to pray with you." He said:
"I know that you love to pray with me, but praying in your house is better for you than praying in your courtyard, and praying in your courtyard is better for you than praying in the mosque of your people, and praying in the mosque of your people is better for you than praying 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"
(Ahmed- Imam Ahmed said that this hadith is Sahih)
When looking at this hadith it does not prove anything which says that the prophet (Sal) forbidding women from going to mosques. The prophet (Sal) only said that it is better to pray in the house or the courtyard and this hadith, the prophet (Sal) specifically gave this advise to Umm Humayd and there is no mention of him stating this to other women. Although it is better for women to pray in their houses, it does not mean that they cannot pray in mosques and prohibition them is a form of deviancy and extremism that has plagued the minds of hard-hearted men who are only use the blanket term"Fitnah" to forbid women from everything and to take away their human right of going to the mosque which has been given by Allah)Swt).
Abdullah ibn Amr (Rali) narrated that the prophet (Sal) said,
“The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.”
(Tirmidhi-Graded Sahih by Imam Tirmidhi)
The prophet (Sal) told to treat women kindly.
Abu Hurayrah (Rali) narrated,
The prophet (Sal) said,
“The most complete of believers in faith are those with the best character, and the best of you are the best in behavior to their women.”
(Tirmidhi- Graded Sahih by Imam Tirmidhi)
It is clear from the above evidence it is clear beyond doubt that women can go to mosques and it is not an obligation for her to seek permission. Similar to how men have the right to go out or go to the mosques with out permission, the women also have the right to go out and to the mosques without permission because this is a right given by Allah(Swt) and taking a way that right is a violation of the basic right of women and men should fear Allah because all of us are answerable to him on the day of judgement.
Women going to mosques is criticized by many Muslim schools of thought and individuals but the textual evidence clearly allowed women to go to the mosques without any restriction.
It is unfortunate to see nowadays that Muslim women across the world in most cases are not allowed to go to a mosque to pray. The prophet (Sal) said,
"If your women ask permission to go to the Masjid at night,permit them to do so"
(Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
Ibn Umar (Rali) narrated tat the prophet (Sal) said,
"Don not bar women from going to the masjids if they ask to"
(Bukhari)
With clear evidence like above proving that men should not prevent women from going to the mosques, people who follow Madhhabs and individuals have started to prevent women from going to the mosque. Ibn Umar (Rali) said,
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sal) say: ‘Do not prevent your women from going to the mosque if they ask your permission.’" Bilaal ibn ‘Abdullah said, "By Allah, we will prevent them." (Ibn ‘Umar) turned to him and told him off in an unprecedented fashion, saying: "I tell you what the Messenger of Allah (Sal) said, and you say ‘By Allaah, we will prevent them’!!"
(Sahih Muslim)
In the above hadith Ibn Umar (Rali) who was a scholar rebuked the person who vowed to prevent them from entering mosques. All the wrong arguments that are brought forward to prevent women from entering mosques is due to men thinking that women are inferior and secondary human beings and this is why even after there is clear evidence to prove that women can go to the mosque, men try to prvent them by bringing up false excuses and arguments.
One argument is the follish argument that even if a woman is supposed to come to the mosque, she should pray behind a curtain that acts like a partition in the mosque. this partitioning of women from men in the mosque is an innovation(Bidah) because nowhere in the Quran or the authentic hadiths doe it say so. This foolish partition argument is based on a verse in the Quran which is misunderstood. The verse is as follows,, "And when you ask for something, ask them from behind a partition" (Al-Quran-33:53)
This verse was revealed specifically to the wives of the prophet (Sal) and it has nothing to do with preying n the mosques. The next excuse or argument that is brought to discourage women from entering mosques is that they cannot enter if they are wearing perfume. There is evidence that women used to go to mosques by putting on perfume as evident from the below hadith,
It was narrated that ‘Aishah (Rali) said:
"We used to go out with the Prophet (sal) to Makkah, and we would apply perfume to our foreheads when
entering Ihram, then if one of us sweated it would run down her face,
and the Prophet (Sal) would see it but he would not rebuke her."
(Narrated by Abu Dawud-Classed Sahih by Imam Navavi and Sheikh Albani)
Allah (Swt) gives an example of women working in the feilds and going out in the story of Musa (Alahissalam) in the Quran we read the story of prophet Musa (Alahissalam) talking to two women as follows,
"And when he came to the well of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering [their flocks], and he found aside from them two women driving back [their flocks]. He said, "What is your circumstance?" They said, "We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is an old man."(Al Quran-28:23)
I have explained in detail on why women can wear perfume in public.
Click here https://cjislam.weebly.com/why-wearing-perfume-is-not-forbidden-for-women.html to read the full article. The other argument is that the women who intends to go to the mosques should ask for permission from her husband or guardian. This argument is wrong because there is no evidence from the prophet (Sal) stating that women must ask for permission to go to the mosque. There is clear evidence to show to the contrary that women can go out or to the mosque with our t asking permission from her husband or guardian.
"Umar bin `Abdullah wrote to `Ubaydullah bin `Abdullah bin `Utbah informing him that Subay`ah told him that she had been married to Sa`d bin Khawlah, and he was one of those who participated in the battle of Badr. He died during the Farewell Pilgrimage, while she was pregnant. Soon after his death, she gave birth. When she passed the postnatal term, she beautified herself for those who might propose to her. Abu As-Sanabil bin Ba`kak came to her and said,
`Why do I see you have beautified yourself Do you wish to remarry By Allah, you cannot marry unless four months and ten days have passed.'' Subay`ah said, "When he said that, I dressed myself in the evening and went to Allah's Messenger and asked him about his verdict. He gave me a religious verdict that I was allowed to marry after I had given birth to my child, saying I could marry if I wish.''
(Bukhari and Muslim)
In the above hadith, Subay'ah went out and met the prophet (Sal) and there is no mentioning in this hadith that she sought permission and it is clear that the prophet (Sal) never rebuked her or ask her whether she cane out to speak to him by asking permission from her guardian. Now, let us analyze the next hadith.
Jabir Ibn 'Abdullah (Rali) reported,
" My maternal aunt was divorced, and she intended to pluck her dates [from palm trees]. A person scolded her for having come out (during her waiting period). She came to the Prophet (Sal) and he told her: "Certainly you can pluck (dates) from your palm trees, for perhaps you may give out charity or do an act of kindness."
(Sahih Muslim)
In this hadith the prophet(Sal) allowed a woman who was in Idda to come out and pluck dates and the prophet (Sal) never told her to ask for permission from her male guardian before going out. There are several more hadiths proving this point and even the wives of the prophet(Sal) went out with out seeking permission from the prophet (Sal). If women are supposed to ask for permission from every little thing from her husband. During the time of the prophet (Sal), beautiful girls did visit the mosque and these girls were never turned away from the mosque because their beauty could cause any fitna.
Ibn Abbas (Rali) narrated, "A beautiful woman, from among the most beautiful of women, used to pray behind the Prophet. Some of the people used to go to pray in the first row to ensure they would not be able to see her. Others would pray in the last row of the men, and they would look from underneath their armpits [in rukoo’ and sujood] to see her. Because of this act, in regard to her, Allah revealed, “Verily We know the eager among you to be first, and verily We know the eager among you to be behind.” (Qur’an 15: 24)" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Tayalisi, Baihaqi, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Nasai and i Graded Sahih by Sheikh Albani in Silsila Hadith As saheehah)
In the above hadith a beautiful woman used to pray behind the prophet (Sal) and some of the sahabi used to go behind to look at her while in sujood or rukoo and even in such a scenario the prophet (Sa) never told this beautiful woman to not come to the mosque but nowadays if that happens, then surely he woman would be blamed and she would have been banned to come to the mosque telling that she is a cause of temptation. I would lime ask such people , What do they know more on temptation which the messenger of Allah(Sal) dis not know? There was an incidence of rape recorded in one hadith and even in such a scenario, the prophet (Sal never told women to stay in their houses .
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr,
"When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (Sal) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That (man) did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her. She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Messenger of Allah (Sal). When he (the Prophet) was about to pass sentence, the man who (actually) had assaulted her stood up and said: Messenger of Allah, I am the man who did it to her. He (the Prophet) said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words (Abu Dawud said: meaning the man who was seized), and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: Stone him to death. He also said: He has repented to such an extent that if the people of Medina had repented similarly, it would have been accepted from them.
(Abu Dawud-Graded Hasan Sahih by Albani)
In the above hadith It is clear that even when a woman was raped while her way to the mosque, the prophet (Sal) did not ban women like nowadays from going to mosques. Some try to argue that the houses are better for women than the mosques. The argument is based on one of the few hadiths as mentioned below,
Umm Humayd, the wife of Abu Humayd al-Saa‘idi reported that she came to the Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) and said,
"O Messenger of Allaah, I love to pray with you." He said:
"I know that you love to pray with me, but praying in your house is better for you than praying in your courtyard, and praying in your courtyard is better for you than praying in the mosque of your people, and praying in the mosque of your people is better for you than praying 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"
(Ahmed- Imam Ahmed said that this hadith is Sahih)
When looking at this hadith it does not prove anything which says that the prophet (Sal) forbidding women from going to mosques. The prophet (Sal) only said that it is better to pray in the house or the courtyard and this hadith, the prophet (Sal) specifically gave this advise to Umm Humayd and there is no mention of him stating this to other women. Although it is better for women to pray in their houses, it does not mean that they cannot pray in mosques and prohibition them is a form of deviancy and extremism that has plagued the minds of hard-hearted men who are only use the blanket term"Fitnah" to forbid women from everything and to take away their human right of going to the mosque which has been given by Allah)Swt).
Abdullah ibn Amr (Rali) narrated that the prophet (Sal) said,
“The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.”
(Tirmidhi-Graded Sahih by Imam Tirmidhi)
The prophet (Sal) told to treat women kindly.
Abu Hurayrah (Rali) narrated,
The prophet (Sal) said,
“The most complete of believers in faith are those with the best character, and the best of you are the best in behavior to their women.”
(Tirmidhi- Graded Sahih by Imam Tirmidhi)
It is clear from the above evidence it is clear beyond doubt that women can go to mosques and it is not an obligation for her to seek permission. Similar to how men have the right to go out or go to the mosques with out permission, the women also have the right to go out and to the mosques without permission because this is a right given by Allah(Swt) and taking a way that right is a violation of the basic right of women and men should fear Allah because all of us are answerable to him on the day of judgement.