Investigation of the Hadith: "لَا خَيْرَ فِي جَمَاعَةِ النِّسَاءِ" (No Good in the Congregation of Women)
Excerpted from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, p. 266
(Question by: Muhammad Mohsin Salafi, Karachi)
✿ Question
Is the following narration authentic?
"لا خير في جماعة النساء إلا في مسجد"
"There is no good in the congregation of women except in a mosque."
This narration is cited in:
◈ Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh (2/118, Ḥadīth 2104)
◈ al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ by al-Ṭabarānī (Ḥadīth 9359 – new edition)
✿ Answer
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
➊ Source Verification of the Narration
This narration appears with multiple chains in Hadith collections. Some examples:
◉ Musnad Aḥmad (6/66, Ḥadīth 24888)
From ʿĀ’ishah (RA):
“There is no good in women gathering except in a mosque or at the funeral of a martyr.”
◉ Musnad Aḥmad (6/154, Ḥadīth 25728)
Similar wording, narrated through Ibn Luhayʿah via al-Walīd ibn Abī al-Walīd from al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad.
◉ al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ by Ṭabarānī (10/166, Ḥadīth 9355)
➋ Analysis of the Chain (Isnād)
The main issue lies in the presence of ʿAbdullāh ibn Luhayʿah, a weak narrator due to ikhtiṭāṭ (confusion after memory loss).
◉ Conditions for His Narration to Be Accepted:
- Clear statement of hearing (سماع) – since he was a mudallis (obfuscator)
- Narrators must have heard from him before his ikhtiṭāṭ (confusion)
However, in this chain:
- The narrators from him (Ḥajjāj, Ḥasan ibn Mūsā al-Ashīb, Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥarrānī)
- Are not proven to have narrated from him prior to his ikhtiṭāṭ
Hence, the chain is weak.
➌ Other Weak Narrations
al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ (8/64, Ḥadīth 7126):
“There is no good in the congregation of women except at a funeral, for when they gather, they say things they shouldn’t.”
This includes al-Wāziʿ ibn Nāfiʿ, a matrūk (abandoned) narrator, making the narration unacceptable even as supporting evidence.
Similarly, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (12/317, Ḥadīth 1228) has the same problem.
➍ Authentic Narrations Supporting Women’s Congregational Prayer
Contrary to the above, authentic Hadiths prove the permissibility of women leading or participating in congregation:
Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Ḥadīth 592)
The Prophet ﷺ instructed Umm Waraqah (RA) to lead her household in prayer.
✔ Authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah (1676), Ibn Jarūd (333), and declared ḥasan by Shaykh al-Albānī.
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq (5086), al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī (3/131)
ʿĀ’ishah (RA) led women in prayer.
✔ Chain is ḥasan, with Sufyān al-Thawrī explicitly stating he heard it.
Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq (5082)
Umm Salamah (RA) led women in prayer, standing among them.
✔ Chain is ṣaḥīḥ; Sufyān al-Thawrī and Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah support it.
➎ Rebuttal of the Narration "Lā Ta’um al-Marʾah" (A Woman Should Not Lead Prayer)
Cited in Iʿlā’ al-Sunan (4/243, Ḥadīth 1220) and attributed to ʿAlī (RA). However:
◈ The narration is from al-Mudawwanah and has no sound chain
◈ Narrator Mawlā Banī Hāshim is unknown (majhūl)
◈ The narration is not traceable to ʿAlī (RA) with an authentic chain
Thus, not reliable as evidence.
✿ Summary
The narration “Lā Khayra fī Jamāʿat al-Nisā’” is weak or fabricated depending on the chain. Authentic and ḥasan narrations confirm the validity of women’s congregational prayer, including leadership by women for other women. The Prophet ﷺ himself approved such practice for Umm Waraqah (RA), and leading female Companions practiced it. Weak or fabricated narrations cannot override established authentic Sunnah.﴿وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ﴾
And Allah knows best what is correct.
