Just as women cannot be prevented from attending regular mosques, similarly, women cannot be prevented from praying in congregation in the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram). Moreover, if women do not go to Masjid al-Haram for prayer, then should they not perform Tawaf either? How will they perform Tawaf while staying separate from men there?
Therefore, we say that women cannot be prevented from praying in congregation and performing Tawaf in Masjid al-Haram. However, women should observe proper hijab and avoid mixing with men as much as possible. In this regard, Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“If there is no fear of fitnah (temptation) from or towards women, it is permissible for them to go to the mosque for Taraweeh prayers.”
Because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
لا تمنعوا إماء الله مساجد الله
“Do not prevent the servants of Allah from going to the mosques of Allah.”
The question is:
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not prevent women from coming to the mosque, then why, after fourteen hundred years, are women being prevented from this important religious duty? Several questions arise in this regard:
❀ Have all women gone astray? Have they all abandoned the religion of Allah?
❀ Can the punishment for misguided women in society be imposed on all women who want to perform acts of worship while following the religion?
❀ If a person travels with his family, men perform their obligatory prayers in some mosque. Should women abandon this religious duty? Should they neglect such an important pillar of prayer just because they are women and there is no provision for them to go to the mosque?
❀ Besides immodesty, many other superstitions have entered society. Will men or women be prevented from other religious acts to correct these?
On one hand, there is the manifestation of immodesty and modern fashion where women without proper hijab wear modern and Western clothes, shop day and night, visit recreational places, participate in debates alongside men in assemblies, work unveiled in banks, factories, and other institutions. No one stops them. On the other hand, women who want to go to the mosque observing Islamic principles and regulations are being stopped.
It is narrated from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“I have cursed six types of people, and Allah has also cursed them, and the prayer of every prophet is accepted:
1. The one who adds to the Book of Allah.
2. The one who denies predestination.
3. The one who unjustly seizes power and humiliates the honorable and honors the humiliated.
4. The one who disrespects the sacred places of Allah (i.e., the House of Allah).
5. The one who considers permissible what Allah has forbidden for my progeny.
6. The one who abandons my Sunnah.”
From this, it is understood that no one’s opinion should be followed against any verse or hadith. When it is known from hadith that women should not be prevented from going to the mosque, then how can we prevent them? By not arranging separate facilities for women in mosques, practically women are being prevented from mosques, deliberately opposing the hadith. Even after seeing all this, we remain silent, and whoever remains silent will be an accomplice to those who prevent [women]. Instead of peacefully advising women who cause fitnah, we are stopping those women who want to attend Friday prayers. They want to learn religion and reform themselves and their children. By ending their opportunities for reform, we are preventing them from religion.
When and who ended the permission given by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? Did Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) not know that times of fitnah would come? The Prophet (peace be upon him) made education obligatory for women as well as men. He opened the doors of the mosque for them, arranged separate sermons and admonitions, and ordered their attendance on the two Eids. Even menstruating women were ordered to attend. If it was so necessary for women to stay away from the mosque, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have forbidden women from entering the mosque.
We should not go beyond Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him). Is there any Quranic verse or hadith that proves that scholars of the time, considering societal conditions and events, can change the rulings of the Quran and hadith or suspend them temporarily for expediency? If women can be prevented from entering the mosque due to fear of fitnah, then are these fitnahs less for men? Daily killings, riots, chaos, and target killings do not prevent men from going to mosques?
Whether a woman prays at home or in the mosque should be her own decision. If a woman feels fear for herself, she is permitted to pray at home. If she considers herself safe and secure to come to the mosque, she should not be prevented. Rather, every mosque should fulfill its responsibility by arranging separate entrances and places for women. Women are explicitly ordered to attend Eid prayers. Therefore, completely separate tents should be arranged for women’s gatherings.
Yet, practically, they are even prevented from this. Scholars should not adopt such a method that leads to the complete abandonment of a clear ruling. Not all women fall into fitnah. Among them, praise be to Allah, are those of good character and good intentions who want to reform society.
Moreover, in this era of fitnah, when men do not even have time due to economic activities, should women not be taught religious rulings? If it is decided otherwise, then who will bear the responsibility of children’s reform? The fitnah is that women have been allowed to go everywhere. If they are prevented, it is from going to the mosque, which is a loss both religiously and worldly.
الحمد لله Now the number of Muslims is in millions and billions. Most of them travel to Makkah every year for Hajj and Umrah, and this travel is done following the command of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), not on the instruction of any spiritual guide or imam. Therefore, the increase in population cannot annul or change this ruling. There is no doubt that Masjid al-Haram is often crowded. During Ramadan and Hajj days, the crowd increases even more. Arrangements have been made as much as possible to avoid mixing of men and women during this time. If one enters the Haram in an orderly manner and women remain engaged in worship in their designated places, there will be no occasion for mixing. If men and women happen to meet during Tawaf, women should give way to men while adhering to Islamic principles, and men should lower their gaze and try to keep away from women. Is it not a loss to miss the reward of one prayer by not praying in the Haram due to a little understanding? Surely, it is a great loss. Spending millions of rupees and traveling long distances, it is far better to pray in congregation in the Haram than to rest in a hotel. People go to the mosque for worship, not for any other intention. Even the most sinful person lowers his gaze in the Haram. Therefore, if by chance there is an encounter with a non-mahram, one should turn their gaze away according to Islamic principles, not prevent women from going to the mosque. Islam was well aware that the population would increase in the future. If there was no way to avoid mixing, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would have clearly forbidden people of future times from allowing women to enter Masjid al-Haram due to fear of mixing. Tawaf would not have been obligatory for them either. But this never happened. As for Masjid al-Nabawi, there are separate bathrooms (ablution areas) for women, separate entrances to the mosque, and separate designated places for prayer. There is no opportunity for mixing there. If someone does this out of ignorance and lack of knowledge, this cannot be applied to everyone nor should it be.
In the present era, many responsibilities outside the home have been placed on women under the pretext of economic activities. For example, buying groceries for the house, paying utility bills, taking children to and from school and attending school-related matters, arranging and supervising workers and craftsmen for home repairs, taking a sick person to the hospital, bringing and taking guests from stations and airports, going to parks and healthful places for recreation with children, attending weddings and other events where men should go more than women—women have accepted or been assigned these responsibilities, and no one stops them. Even though sometimes there are many corruptions in these. If these are accepted, then why is there corruption and evil eye in going to the mosque or any religious institution?
Interestingly, even the Tablighi Jamaat members now seem to agree that women should be prepared for preaching along with men. Maulana Tariq Jameel (may Allah preserve him) made a heartfelt appeal to women in one of his speeches to go out for preaching so that the widespread immorality in society may be removed. If women can go out for preaching, then going out for congregational prayer, Friday prayer, and Taraweeh is even more preferable.
In our opinion, those who prevent women from going to the mosque are ignoring several aspects:
1. They are opposing a clear hadith.
2. By keeping women away from the mosque, they are keeping them away from the practical field of learning religion. Thus, they are helping Western propaganda that Islam gives no rights to women and keeps them imprisoned like animals.
3. They are encouraging misguided women in society and discouraging modest women. Thus, they are merely trying to keep women away from religion and depriving them of a right given to them by Islam, which is a loss in both religion and worldly life for all of us.
Guarantees of Success
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١﴾ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ ﴿٣﴾ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ ﴿٤﴾ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ ﴿٥﴾
