Women in masjid

06 Feb 2022 Ref-No#: 1250

Assalam-o-Alaikum
There is a Deoband scholar named, Mufti Tariq Masood who talked about the issue of women attending the masjid, said :
Hazrat Aisha (R.A), Hazrat Umar (R.A) and Imam Abu Hanifa prevented women to go to masajid because of fitna but the point is that at the time of Aisha (R.A) and Imam Abu Hanifa, women were not going anywhere except the masajid. But this is not the case today. Women are going to cinema hall, mall and university etc and we can’t stop them from these places because this fitna has been started and now it’s impossible for us to stop them from these places. The only good places which are masajid, they are not allow to go there.
There are no religious environment in many houses and women find a lot of haraam things in their houses and they started doing these things too because of lack of religious environment. If they come to masjid and see people standing in front of Allah they will also feel that they are also muslims.
No doubt there is fitna in attending the mosque but there is much more fitna in not attending it which is contrary to men, women’s connection with Allah is getting weaker day by day. You can clearly see that the places where women go to masajid have a powerful relationship with Allah contrary to those places where women can’t go to masajid. This is absolutely correct that many of them don’t cover them while going to masajid but if they don’t come to masajid then they would get far from islam.
In hanafi fiqh, it is not permissible for women to attend the masjid just because of fitna. If there is more fitna on not attending the masjid than attending it then it should be stated in the Hanafi Fiqh :
لو كان ابو حنيفة رأى ما رأينا لاجاز النسآء
This is all what he said. His video is available on youtube. Please please understand this. I cry everyday because women in my family can’t go to masajid.

Answer

Wa’Alaykumus Salām Wa Raḥmatullāhi Wa Barāktuh

Allāh ﷻ says:

“And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance” [al-Qur’ān 33:33]

It was narrated that Umm Ḥumayd, the wife of Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allāh, I would like to pray with you.” He said, “I know that you would like to pray with me, but your prayer in your room is better for you than your prayer in your courtyard and your prayer in your courtyard is better for you than your praying in your house, and your prayer in your house is better for you than your prayer in the mosque of your people, and your prayer in the mosque of your people is better for you than your prayer in my mosque.” She then issued orders that a prayer-place be prepared for her in the furthest and darkest part of her house, and she used to pray there until she met Allāh (i.e., until she passed away).”  [Ahmad]

Based on the above, one cannot simply state that because women are going to all other places it is better for them to go to the Masjid, for what if, Allāh forbid, that it becomes a means to Fitnah (temptations) taking place right by the House of Allāh which is so honored and sanctified? What if it leads to illegitimate relationships and/or Zinā of the eyes i.e., lustful gazes? As you have stated that there is no doubt there will be Fitnah.

Also, take note that this is not a matter of ‘the lighter of two evils’.

You have also mentioned that the point is for women to perform Ṣalāh despite the Fitnah as opposed to them not performing Ṣalāh at all due to the lack of a religious environment at home.

This can be counter-argued by the fact that the Prophet ﷺ encouraged men to perform their Sunnah and Nafl (optional) Ṣalāh at home, and as a result, a religious environment may be created within the confines of one’s home thereby encouraging and motivating women to perform their Ṣalāh, and this shouldn’t be an issue because having a ‘powerful relationship’ with Allāh ﷻ is not defined by the attendance of Ṣalāh within a Masjid environment. Instead, having a strong relationship with Allāh ﷻ comes about by being aware and conscious of Him, abstaining from that which He has prohibited, and following the advice of the Prophet ﷺ who in this case says that it is more rewarding for a woman who performs her Ṣalāh in her home as per the Ḥadīth we have quoted above.

What about the detrimental effects it would later have on those women who prefer being at home? Do we simply start encouraging all women to go out and then when they feel comfortable going out and start going out to other impermissible places or to places where they might fall into Fitnah then what would we then say?

Apart from the aspect of Fitnah, do we not want the best for our women? Do we not want their safety and security? Do we not want to protect their dignity and chastity?

Do we not want them to do such actions which will be more rewarding because, in the Hereafter, that’s all that matters?

Again, the Prophet ﷺ guarantees more reward for a woman who performs her Ṣalāh in her home.

Nevertheless, the balanced approach would be that primarily, women should perform their Ṣalāh at home. If there is some valid reason for them to perform Ṣalāh at the Masjid, then that will be in order such as in the case where she cannot be left home-alone for safety reasons whilst the menfolk are gone for Ṣalāh, or she is travelling and needs a place to perform Wuḍū and Ṣalāh for example.

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