All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, the trustworthy one. To proceed:
The claim of the Aal-e-Taqlid regarding “the difference between the prayer of men and women” is that:
(1) A woman should raise both hands up to her shoulders for the Takbir al-Tahrima.
(2) She should not bring her hands out of her sleeves.
(3) She should place the palm of her right hand on the back of her left hand.
(4) She should tie her hands on the chest below the breasts.
(5) In ruku, she should bend slightly.
(6) In ruku, she should not support herself on her hands.
(7) In ruku, she should not keep the fingers spread apart but should join them together.
(8) In ruku, she should place her hands on her knees (she should not grip the knees).
(9) In ruku, she should give a slight bend to the knees.
(10) In ruku, she should draw herself together.
(11) In sajda too, she should draw her body together and gather herself.
(12) In sajda, she should spread her arms on the ground along with the elbows.
(13) In qa’da, she should sit on her left hip with both feet taken out to the right.
(14) In qa’da, she should place her fingers on her thighs in such a way that the tips of the fingers reach the knees, and join the fingers together.
In contrast to these Taqlidi differences, the claim of the Ahl al-Hadith is that:
Not even one of the above differences is proven specifically for women from the Qur’an, Hadith, or consensus. Therefore, in light of the hadith “Pray as you have seen me praying” (Salu kama ra’aytumuni usalli), women too should pray in the same manner in which Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ prayed.
The Ahl al-Hadith have the complaint against the Aal-e-Taqlid that these people deceive the general Muslims by presenting weak and rejected narrations and arguments unrelated to the subject. After this introduction, a review of the four-page article “The Difference Between the Prayer of Men and Women” by Qari Chan Muhammad Deobandi and Qari Nasir Ahmad Deobandi is presented. Responses to the doubts of others regarding the difference in the manner of prayer between men and women have also been given in this article. All praise is due to Allah.
Qari Chan Sahib (1):
وعن وائل بن حجر قال قال لي رسول الله صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم : يا وائل بن حجر إذا صليت فاجعل يديك حذاء أذنيك والمرأة تجعل حذاء ثدييها
Translation: Hadrat Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet ﷺ taught him the method of prayer and said: “O Wa’il bin Hujr, when you begin prayer, raise your hands to your ears, and the woman should raise her hands to her breasts.”
The Reply:
Regarding this hadith, Hafiz Nur al-Din al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in his book Majma’ al-Zawa’id:
رواه الطبراني فى حديث طويل فى مناقب وائل من طريق ميمونة بنت حجر عن عمتها ام يحي بنت عبدالجبار و لم أعرفها و بقية رجاله ثقات
“It was narrated by al-Tabarani in a long hadith in the virtues of Wa’il (may Allah be pleased with him), from the route of Maymuna bint Hujr, from her paternal aunt Umm Yahya bint Abd al-Jabbar. I do not know Umm Yahya, and the rest of the narrators of this chain are trustworthy.”
It becomes known that the author of Majma’ al-Zawa’id has criticized the chain of this narration, which Qari Chan Sahib and his party, included among the “debaters” and “qaris” of the Deobandis, have concealed. Is this what justice and trustworthiness is called?
Anecdote: The debater of the Hayati Deobandis, Master Amin Okarvi, presented this very narration of Umm Yahya as evidence.
Whereas, regarding a hadith that goes against his own inclination, he wrote: “Umm Yahya is majhula (unknown).”
The very same female narrator, when the report is contrary to one’s preference, becomes “majhoola” (unknown), and in another place her narration is taken as proof. Wah, what justice!
Warning: The narration of Majma’ al-Zawa’id is present in the chain of Umm Yahya in al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani (vol. 22, pp. 19-20, no. 28), and the author of “Hadith aur Ahl-e-Hadith” has quoted it from this very book.
Warning: This unestablished narration attributed to Sayyidina Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) has been quoted by Muhammad Zafar al-Din Qadiri Razawi Barelwi (died 1962 AD) in his compiled book “Sahih al-Bahari” (p. 383).
It becomes known that the Barelwi book “Sahih al-Bahari” (!), written in opposition to Sahih al-Bukhari, also contains weak and rejected narrations within its folds. How boldly these people wish to make weak and rejected narrations appear authentic. Do they have no fear of the seizure on the Day of Judgment?
Qari Chan Sahib (2):
“Abu Bakr bin Abi Shayba, the teacher of Imam Bukhari, narrated the fatwa of the tabi’i Hadrat Ata that a woman should raise her hands up to her breasts in prayer, and he said she should not raise them the way men do, and at the end he said: in prayer a woman is not like men.” Musannaf li Abi Bakr bin Abi Shayba p. 1/239
The Reply:
At the end of the aforementioned narration in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba (1/239, no. 2474) is: ‘Ata bin Abi Rabah said: “Inna lil-mar’ati hay’atan laysat lil-rajuli, wa in tarakat dhalika fala haraj” — Indeed a woman’s form (state) is not like a man’s, and if she leaves that, there is no harm.’
It becomes known that according to Ata, if a woman leaves raising her hands up to the breasts and prays like men, there is no harm in it. Qari Chan Sahib and the author of “Hadith aur Ahl-e-Hadith” concealed this final sentence (by writing “al-hadith”, i.e. “to the end of the narration”) because with this sentence the foundation of their alleged madhhab is destroyed. When there is no harm in it, then why are the Deobandi and Barelwi people making an uproar that men and women should raise their hands up to the ears and breasts respectively?
According to the claims of the Al-e-Taqlid, the Qur’an, Hadith, consensus and the ijtihad of Abu Hanifa are proof. How did the words of Imam Ata become proof for them?
Mr. Zafar Ahmad Thanwi, the Deobandi, writes:
فإن قول التابعي لا حجة فيه Indeed, the statement of a Tabi’i is not a proof.
In a book favoured by the Deobandis it is written that Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“If there are the narrations of the Companions and they differ, I choose; and if it is the saying of the Tabi’in, I contend with them, meaning I make ijtihad like them.”
Two things are known from this statement:
First: Imam Sahib did not accept the statements and actions of the Tabi’in as proof.
Second: Imam Sahib is not from among the Tabi’in. If he were from among the Tabi’in, what need would there have been to mention the Tabi’in separately?
Now, some of Imam Ata’s rulings are presented, which the Al-e-Taqlid do not accept at all.
1: Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) used to raise his hands (rafa’ al-yadayn) before bowing and after bowing. See Juz Raf’ al-Yadayn (no. 26, and its chain is hasan).
2: Ata said:
أما أنا فأقر أمع الإمام فى الظهر و العصر بأم القرآن و سورة قصيرة
“I recite Surah al-Fatihah and a short surah behind the imam in Zuhr and Asr.”
3: Ata said: المسح على الجوربين بمنزلة المسح على الخفين
“Wiping over socks is in the same way (permissible) as wiping over leather khuffs (is permissible).”
4: Ata was asked: if you touch your private part during the bath (i.e., at the end), what would you do? He said: إذأ أعود بوضوء
“I would perform wudu again.”
It is known that along with opposing the Qur’an and Hadith, the Al-e-Taqlid people also oppose the statements and actions of Imam Ata and other Tabi’in and Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
Qari Chan Sahib (3):
Hazrat Allama Maulana Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi says:
واما فى حق النساء فاتفقوا على ان السنة لهن وضع اليدين على الصدر
“Regarding women, all agree that for them the sunnah in prayer is to place the hands on the chest.”
The answer:
The phrase “all agree” of the taqlidi Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi means agreement of all the Deobandis, Barelvis and Hanafis; it does not mean agreement of the entire Ummah.
Abd al-Rahman al-Jaziri writes:
الحنابلة قالوا : السنة للرجل و المرأة أن يضع باطن يده اليمنيٰ على ظهر يده اليسري ويجعلهما تحت سرته
The Hanbalis say that for both men and women the sunnah is that the inner part of the right hand be placed on the back of the left hand and below the navel. (Kitab al-Fiqh ala al-Madhahib al-Arba’ah vol. 1 p. 251, published in Beirut, Lebanon)
It should be remembered that presenting the statement and action of taqlidi maulvis like Abd al-Hayy Lakhnawi against the Ahl-e-Hadith is the work of those people who are devoid of and empty-handed from the Book, Sunnah and consensus.
Qari Chan Sahib (4):
عن أبى يزيد بن أبى حبيب ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مرعلي امراتين تصليٰن فقال إذا سجدتما فضمابعض اللحم الي الارض فإن المرأة فى ذلك ليست كالرجل
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by two women who were praying. He ﷺ said: when you prostrate, press some of the flesh to the ground, for in this regard a woman is not like a man.”
The answer:
Imam Bayhaqi, before quoting the aforementioned narration from Imam Abu Dawud’s book Al-Maraseel (no. 87), wrote it as a “hadith munqati'”, i.e., a broken hadith.
Regarding the broken hadith, a modern book of the principles of hadith has written:
المنقطع ضعيف بالإتفاق بين العلماء و ذلك للجهل بحال الراوي المحذوف
The scholars agree that a munqati’ narration is da’if, because its omitted narrator is unknown (majhul).
Warning: In Al-Maraseel of Abu Dawud (no. 33) it is mentioned that Tawus (a Tabi’i) said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to tie his hands on his chest in prayer. (p. 89)
The Al-e-Taqlid have an aversion to this munqati’ hadith. These people are not ready to act upon this hadith, yet against the Ahl-e-Hadith they are presenting an argument from the munqati’ narration of Al-Maraseel!
Qari Chan Sahib (5):
عن ابن عمر مرفوعا اذا جلست المرأة فى الصلوة و ضعت فخذها على فخذها الأخري فاذا سجدت الصقت بطنها فى فخذيها كاسترما يكون لها وان الله تعالىٰ ينظر اليها و يقول يا ملائكتي اشهدكم اني قد غفرت لها
“The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: when a woman sits in prayer, she should place her right thigh on her left thigh; and when she prostrates, she should join her stomach to her thighs, which is the state of greater concealment (satr). Allah the Exalted looks at her and says: O (angels), bear witness that I have forgiven her.”
The answer:
Concerning one of the narrators of this narration, Abu Mati’ al-Hakam ibn Abdullah al-Balkhi, it is written on the same page of Al-Sunan al-Kubra of Bayhaqi that:
قال أبو أحمد : أبو مطيع بين الضعف فى أحاديثه
Etc. Imam Abu Ahmad (ibn Adi) said: The weakness of Abu Mati’ in his narrations is evident. Etc.
It was declared weak (ḍaʿīf) by Imam Yahya ibn Maʿin and others. For the criticisms of the majority of muhaddithun, see Lisan al-Mizan
.
The second narrator in this report, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Balkhi, is such that it is not permissible to mention him (i.e., to narrate from him).
The third narrator, Ubayd ibn Muhammad al-Sarkhi, has unknown circumstances.
Summary of the research: This report is fabricated (mawdu’). Imam al-Bayhaqi himself declared it, and the next hadith (9), to be حديثان ضعيفان لا يحتج بأمثالها.
This report is cited in Kanz al-Ummal
on the authority of al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Adi
(Kanz al-Ummal states: “‘Ad, Q, and he weakened it, from Ibn Umar”, i.e., Ibn Adi and al-Bayhaqi). Some people have grasped the ear from the wrong side and cited it on the authority of Kanz al-Ummal.
Qari Chan Sahib (6):
عن إبن عمر أنه سئل كيف النساء يصلين على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ؟ قال: كن يتربصن ثم أمرن أن يحتفزن
Translation: Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked how women used to pray during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said that they first used to sit cross-legged, and then they were commanded to pray while gathering themselves tightly.
Response:
In the book “Jami al-Masanid” by Abu al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad ibn Mahmud al-Khwarizmi (died 665 AH, unreliable/not authenticated), the following is an assessment of some of the narrators of this report.
1: The identity of Ibrahim ibn Mahdi is unknown. In al-Taqrib there are two narrators with this name, and the second of them is criticized. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: “al-Basri, they declared him a liar.” He is from Basra, and (the muhaddithun) called him a liar.
2: The circumstances of Zarr ibn Najih al-Basri have not been found.
3: The circumstances of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid have not been found.
4: The circumstances of Ali ibn Muhammad al-Bazzaz have not been found.
5: Qadi Umar ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Ashnani is a narrator about whom there is difference of opinion. Concerning him, Imam al-Daraqutni said: “wa kana yakdhib” — and he tells lies.
Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Khallal said: “Da’if, they spoke about him.”
al-Dhahabi criticized him.
Abu Ali al-Harawi and Abu Ali al-Hafiz declared him trustworthy.
Ibn al-Jawzi made a severe criticism of him (al-Mawdu’at 3/280). Burhan al-Din al-Halabi mentioned him among the fabricators of hadith and offered no defence.
Abu al-Qasim Talha ibn Muhammad ibn Ja’far al-Shahid, who is weak and a misguided Mu’tazili, praised him. Khatib al-Baghdadi also praised him.
Summary of the research:
Qadi al-Ashnani is weak according to the majority.
Note: Even up to Qadi al-Ashnani there is an issue in the chain.
6: In the second chain, Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Razi, Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Nisaburi and Qabisa al-Tabari are unknown narrators, and Abu Muhammad al-Bukhari (Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ya’qub) is a liar narrator. See al-Kashf al-Hathith p. (248), Kitab al-Qira’a lil-Bayhaqi (p. 154), Lisan al-Mizan (3/348-349), and Nur al-‘Aynayn fi Ithbat Raf’ al-Yadayn (p. 40-41).
It becomes clear that this report presented by the Qari sahibs and their party is fabricated. This report from Imam Abu Hanifa is not established at all. Despite this, these people are presenting this fabricated report with great relish!
Qari Chan Sahib (7):
The rightly-guided caliph Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say:
إذا سجدت المرأة فلتحتفزولتضم فخذيها
Translation: “When a woman prostrates, she should prostrate while gathering herself tightly and joining her thighs.”
Response:
In both books, al-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Bayhaqi
and Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah
, this report is through the chain of عن أبى إسحاق عن الحارث عن علي.
Al-Harith al-A’war is, according to the majority of muhaddithun, a severely criticized narrator. The Hanafi scholar al-Zayla’i said: لا يحتج به — no proof is taken from him (Nasb al-Raya 2/426). Al-Zayla’i further said: كذبه الشعبي وابن المديني etc.
Al-Sha’bi and Ibn al-Madini called him a liar.
The second narrator in this chain, Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i, is a mudallis (one who conceals defects in narration) (
), and this report is mu’an’an.
Summary of the research:
This report is rejected (mardud).
Qari Chan Sahib (8):
عن ابن عباس انه سئل عن صلوة المرأة فقال: تجمع و تحتفز
When Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the prayer of women, he said: “She should pray gathering herself well and tightly.”
Response:
This report has been narrated by Bukayr ibn Abdullah ibn al-Ashajj from Sayyidina Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them).
Meeting between Bukayr and Sayyidina Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) is not established. Al-Hakim says:
لم يثبت سماعه من عبدالله بن الحارث بن جزء و إنما روايته عن التابعين
His hearing from Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Jaz’ (may Allah be pleased with him, died 88 AH) is not established. His narrations are only from the Tabi’un.
Remember that Sayyidina Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) died in Ta’if in 68 AH. When there is no meeting with a Companion who died in 88 AH, how can it be established with one who died in 68 AH?
Conclusion: This chain is munqati’ (i.e., weak and rejected). It is extremely surprising how such a large number of weak and rejected reports have come together with the Deobandis and Barelvis. Probably these people had to put in much effort, and Allah knows best!
Qari Chan Sahib (9):
Hazrat Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to command men that in the tashahhud they should keep the right foot upright and sit upon the left foot spread out, and used to command women to sit gathering themselves tightly.
Response:
One narrator in this report is Ata ibn Ajlan, about whom Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: عطاء بن عجلان ضعيف
“Ata ibn Ajlan is weak.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar says:
متروك بل أطلق عليه ابن معين و الفلاس و غيرهما الكذب
“He is abandoned (matruk). Rather, Ibn Ma’in, al-Fallas and others have described him without qualification as a liar (kadhdhab).”
Regarding this narration and the previous narration (5), Imam al-Bayhaqi says:
These two hadiths are weak; proof is not taken from narrations like these.(al-Sunan al-Kubra 2/222)
Conclusion:
This narration is rejected and fabricated (mawdu’).
Note:
After these rejected narrations, Qari Chan Sahib and others have presented two narrations: (1) a woman’s prayer is not valid without a dupatta, and likewise a woman’s prayer is not valid unless the upper part of her feet is covered; (2) your (i.e., women’s) praying inside the houses is better than praying in the veranda. Etc.
We submit that these narrations have no connection to the claim that a woman should place her hands on her chest while a man places them below the navel, or that a woman should spread her arms on the ground while men do not, and so on. Presenting arguments irrelevant to the topic is the work of those who have no arguments at all.
The Qari Sahibs have written that “all the jurists and muhaddithin take all these differences into account” (p. 4). We submit: are the Hanbalis excluded from all the jurists? Read the reply to the third narration.
Qari Sahibs and Party have presented the Fatawa Ghaznawi and Fatawa Ulama Ahl al-Hadith (3/148) as an accusation against Ahl al-Hadith. We submit that at the beginning of almost every volume of Fatawa Ulama-e-Hadith it is written:
“It is an open fact that the fundamental principle of the Ahl al-Hadith school is only the following of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Opinion, qiyas, ijtihad and consensus are all subordinate to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Based on this principle, according to Ahl al-Hadith every sensible Muslim has the right to present the fatwas and views of all members of the Ummah to the Book and Sunnah; what agrees he accepts with an open heart, and otherwise he rejects.”
In light of this principle, when the aforementioned fatwas were presented to the Book and Sunnah, they were found to be abandoned, because they oppose the authentic hadith “Pray as you have seen me praying” (Sahih al-Bukhari: 631).
Hafiz Salah ud-Din Yusuf, a well-known scholar and author of Ahl al-Hadith, while responding to a person named Abdul Ra’uf Sukhrawi (Deobandi), writes: “Therefore, this fatwa of Maulana Ghaznawi is also wrong in our view, just as your entire book is wrong, rather it is a collection of errors. This is why none of the scholars of Ahl al-Hadith supported Maulana Ghaznawi.”(Kya Aurton ka Tariqa-e-Namaz Mardon se Mukhtalif hai? p. 57)
It is clear that the fatwa of Ghaznawi Sahib is not acted upon by Ahl al-Hadith. When we do not present against them issues that are not acted upon, why do these people present against us issues that are not acted upon?
Conclusion:
Qari Chan Muhammad Sahib and Party have not been able to present even one proof that shows the women’s method of prayer (such as women placing their hands on the chest and men placing them below the navel, etc.) differs from men’s. Despite being empty-handed in the field of evidence, they make the outcry: “Rather, the fact that the women’s method of prayer differs from men’s is proven by many hadiths and narrations of the Companions and Tabi’un.” (p. 1)
After examining the evidences of the Qari Sahibs, the answer to the doubts of the author of “Hadith aur Ahl al-Hadith” is presented.
Some people (1): عن عبد ربه بن سليمان بن عمير قال: رأيت أم الدرداء ترفع يديها فى الصلوة حذو منكبيها
Hadrat Abd Rabbih bin Sulayman bin Umayr says: I saw Umm al-Darda’ raising her two hands in prayer level with her shoulders.
Answer:
According to Ahl al-Hadith, raising the hands up to the shoulders is valid, and raising them up to the ears is also valid. It is established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he raised his hands up to the ears (Sahih Muslim: 391), and he also raised his hands up to the shoulders (Sahih al-Bukhari: 736 and Sahih Muslim: 390).
Here, as a note, it is submitted that immediately after this same narration (no. 24) of Juz’ Raf’ al-Yadayn, with the same chain, it comes that Umm al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with her) used to raise her hands before bowing and after bowing. (no. 25, and its chain is hasan)
The author of “Hadith aur Ahl al-Hadith” has concealed this matter. The reason for concealment is that these people have a particular kind of aversion to raising the hands (rafa’ al-yadayn).
Some people (2): “Hazrat Ibrahim Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says that when a woman prostrates, she should keep her stomach pressed to her thighs, should not raise her buttocks, and should not spread her limbs apart the way a man does.”
Reply:
It has already been mentioned in the reply to hadith no. 2 that, according to the Deobandis (Aal-e-Taqlid) and others, a statement of a Tabi’i carries no proof. Contrary to their own belief, I do not know why these people are presenting the statement of a Tabi’i.
Now, here are some of Ibrahim Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him) ‘s views which are completely opposed by Aal-e-Taqlid:
1: Ibrahim Nakha’i used to wipe over socks.
2: Ibrahim Nakha’i held that one should not kiss one’s wife while in a state of wudu.
That is, in his view, kissing one’s wife breaks wudu.
3: Ibrahim Nakha’i used to perform tatbiq in ruku’, that is, he placed his two hands between his thighs.
For Ibrahim Nakha’i’s other issues, see Maulana Muhammad Rais Nadwi’s book “Al-Lamhat ila ma fi Anwar al-Bari min al-Zulumat” (vol. 1, pp. 414–420).
Warning: Ibrahim Nakha’i said:
تقعد المرأة فى الصلوة كما يقعد الرجل
“A woman in prayer should sit the way a man sits.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/270 no. 2788, its chain is sahih). What is your opinion on this statement?
Some people (3): “Hazrat Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) considered it disliked for a man, when prostrating, to place his stomach on his thighs as a woman does.”
Reply:
Layth ibn Abi Sulaym is weak according to the majority of muhaddithun. قال البوصیری: هذا إسناد ضعيف ، ليث هو ابن أبى سليم ضعفه الجمهور
For criticism of this Layth, see Tahdhib al-Tahdhib and the books on the biographies of narrators, and the book “Ahsan al-Kalam” (vol. 2, p. 128, 2nd edition, third chapter, under the heading of the statements of the Companions and Tabi’un etc.) by the Deobandi Sarfaraz Khan Safdar.
Layth ibn Abi Sulaym is a mudallis.
And this narration is mu’an’an, so it is weak and rejected.
Apart from this, some people have quoted irrelevant narrations and presented the views of al-Marghinani (author of al-Hidayah) and others against Ahl-e-Hadith.
Wow! What do you think, if the statements and actions of Mungphali Ustad, Piyali Mulla, Gabeen Ustad, Kabul Mulla and others were presented against Ahl-e-Hadith, how would that look?!
The narrations that Mufti Muhammad Ibrahim Sadiqabadi Deobandi wrote on this subject have been commented on in this article. This so-called mufti added only one thing.
Sadiqabadi: “And Imam Hasan Basri’s fatwa on the prayer of a woman is also the same.”
Reply: This narration is reported in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah through the chain “Ibn al-Mubarak from Hisham from al-Hasan”.
Hisham ibn Hassan is a mudallis narrator (Tabaqat al-Mudallisin, third rank 3/110), and this narration is mu’an’an, so this chain is weak.
A great lie of Aal-e-Taqlid:
Those whom Mr. Amin Okarvi Deobandi praised wrote, in order to prove a difference between the method of prayer of men and women, that:
قال أبو بكر بن أبى شيبة سمعت عطاء سئل عن المرأة كيف ترفع يديها فى الصلوة قال : حذو ثدييها
Translation: Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, the teacher of Imam al-Bukhari, says: I heard from Hazrat Ata that he was asked about a woman, how she should raise her hands in prayer, and he said: up to her breasts.
Reply:
In Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah it is written that:
حدثنا هشيم قال: أنا شيخ لنا قال : سمعت عطاء سئل عن المرأة كيف ترفع يديها فى الصلوة قال حذو ثدييها
It becomes known that between Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Ata (died 114 AH) there are two intermediaries, one of whom, “Shaykh Lana,” is unknown (majhul). Those praised by Okarvi Sahib dropped him for a specific purpose, so that the weakness of the chain would not become clear.
In the fatwa certified by Muhammad Taqi Usmani Deobandi and others, it is written that:
“And even if the practice of a Tabi’i does not contradict the principles, it still cannot be used as evidence.”
Those responsible for this fatwa are the following gentlemen:
(1) Amin Okarvi (2) Muhammad Taqi Usmani (3) Muhammad Badr Alam Siddiqi (4) Muhammad Rafi Usmani, and others.
We submit: why do you people present the statements of the Tabi’un?
Objections to the evidences of Ahl-e-Hadith:
According to Ahl-e-Hadith, in placing the hands on the chest, in ruku’, sujud, and sitting in prayer etc., the method of prayer of men and women is the same, because in a sahih hadith it has come that the Prophet ﷺ said:
صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلي
“Pray as you have seen me praying.”
Aal-e-Taqlid have raised many objections regarding the meaning of this hadith, but in the certified fatwa of the Deobandi muftis it is written that: “There is no doubt that the whole Ummah, including men and women, is included in the generality of this narration, and the whole Ummah is obliged to adopt the method of the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer. However, it should be clear that acting on this generality is necessary only as long as no legal evidence contradicts it.”
We submit that in the previous pages you have read in detail that there is no textual evidence for singling out a separate method of prayer for women.
The famous Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him), had a wife, Umm al-Darda (Hujaymah, a Tabi’iyah, may Allah have mercy on her). Her student (the Imam) Makhul al-Shami (may Allah have mercy on him) says about her: “Umm al-Darda (may Allah have mercy on her) used to sit in prayer in the manner of a man,” indeed Umm al-Darda (may Allah have mercy on her) used to sit in prayer like men.
Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وكانت أم الدرداء تجلس فى صلاتها جلسة الرجل و كانت فقيهة (Sahih al-Bukhari before H: 827)
“Umm al-Darda (may Allah have mercy on her) used to sit in her prayer like a man, and she was a faqihah (i.e., a jurist).”
What do you think: from whom did the jurist wife of Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda, Umm al-Darda (may Allah have mercy on her), learn the method of prayer?
The practice of this Tabi’iyah Umm al-Darda (may Allah have mercy on her) is also supported by the statement of Ibrahim al-Nakha’i (a junior Tabi’i) (may Allah have mercy on him). Ibrahim al-Nakha’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “A woman should sit in prayer just as a man sits.”
Hammad (ibn Sulayman), the teacher of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him), says: “A woman may sit (in prayer) however she wishes.” (Ibn Abi Shaybah 271/1 H 2790, and its chain is sahih)
The statement of Ata ibn Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him), a Tabi’i, has already passed earlier in this discussion, that “the form of a woman is not like that of a man; if she leaves it, there is no harm” (see the answer to narration No. 2, p. 3).
It is thus established that the disagreement that the followers of Taqlid are loudly proclaiming regarding the difference between the method of prayer of men and women is, by the consensus of the Tabi’un, baseless.
Note: This article has covered all the discovered doubts of the followers of Taqlid, and all praise is due to Allah.
Summary of the research: To make the difference in prayer between men and women, such that men tie their hands below the navel and women on the chest, men raise their elbows from the ground in prostration while women join their elbows to the ground, and other such differences, are absolutely not established from the Qur’an, Hadith, or consensus. The differences that are established from the Qur’an and Hadith, the Ahl-e-Hadith scholars and laypeople hold in the highest regard, for example, it is necessary for a woman to have a headscarf, and alerting an imam who forgets by striking the hand on the hand instead of saying tasbih, etc.
Benefit: Shaykh al-Faqih Muhammad ibn al-Salih al-Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
فالقول الراجح: أن المرأة تصنع كما يصنع الرجل فى كل شئ ، فترفع يديها و تجافي و تمد الظهر فى حال الركوع و ترفع بطنها عن الفخذين و الفخذين عن الساقين فى حال السجود
Therefore the preferred view is that: a woman too will do in every aspect (of prayer) as a man does. She will raise her hands, she will keep (her arms) away (from her sides), she will keep her back straight in ruku, and in the state of sujud she will keep her stomach away from her thighs and her thighs away from her shins.
