In recent times, certain groups—particularly those following the Hanafi school—strictly prohibit women from attending mosques. They even consider it “Makruh Tahrimi” (prohibitively disliked) for women to attend significant gatherings such as the Eid or Tarawih prayers.
This stance is rooted in ignorance, lack of familiarity with the Prophetic Ahadith, and a deviation from the practices of the noble Companions and the Tabi’un.
This article not only exposes the weakness in the Hanafi arguments but also, through authentic Ahadith and the actions of the Companions, demonstrates that women’s attendance in mosques is proven from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and the practice of the Sahabah.
🔴 Hanafi Evidence #1 — The Athar (Report) of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
Hanafis cite the following narration:
📌 5795 –
حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَابِرٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ: “أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يُخْرِجُ نِسَاءَهُ فِي الْعِيدَيْنِ”
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Vol. 4, p. 234, Ḥadīth 5795]
🔹 Translation:
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما did not bring out his womenfolk for the two Eid prayers.
🔵 Response 01 — Analysis of the Chain
This narration is weak (daʿīf) and munkar due to two core issues:
① Sufyān al-Thawrī is a mudallis (a narrator who commits tadlīs), and he narrates using the ambiguous term “ʿan”, which makes the chain unreliable.
② ʿAbdullāh ibn Jābir is graded by Ibn Ḥajar as:
📌 3244 – عبد الله بن جابر أبو حمزة، البصري:
“مقبول، من السادسة. حيث يتابع، وإلا فَلَيِّن الحديث”
📘 [Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb by Ibn Ḥajar]
🔹 Translation:
ʿAbdullāh ibn Jābir al-Baṣrī is “maqbūl” (acceptable), meaning his narration is acceptable only when he is corroborated; otherwise he is “layyin al-ḥadīth”, i.e. weak.
🛑 Therefore this report is not only possibly disconnected, but is also unfit as evidence because of the mudallis narrator and the weak Tābiʿī.
🟢 Response 02 — The Authentic Report from Ibn ʿUmar
A sound (ṣaḥīḥ) narration from Ibn ʿUmar gives a completely opposite picture:
📌 5787 –
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عُلَيَّةَ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، قَالَ: “كَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ، يُخْرِجُ إِلَى الْعِيدَيْنِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ”
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Vol. 4, p. 233, Ḥadīth 5787]
🔹 Translation:
Nāfiʿ said: ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما would bring out whoever among his household was able to attend the Eid prayers.
📚 Chain Authentication:
- Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah: Thiqah, ḥujjah, ḥāfiẓ
- Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī: Thiqah, thabt, ḥujjah
- Nāfiʿ (mawlā of Ibn ʿUmar): Thiqah, muttafaq ʿalayh (agreed upon)
✅ According to the principles of the majority of scholars of ḥadīth, this narration is Ṣaḥīḥ and makes clear this practice of Ibn ʿUmar: he used to send his women to the mosque.
🟢 Response 03 — Ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar
Ibn ʿUmar himself narrates the following marfūʿ ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ:
📌 865 –
حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، قَالَ: “إِذَا اسْتَأْذَنَكُمْ نِسَاؤُكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ، فَأْذَنُوا لَهُنَّ”
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adhān, Ḥadīth 865]
🔹 Translation:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When your women seek permission to go to the masjid at night, grant them permission.”
🛑 Question:
Would a noble companion like Ibn ʿUmar—the narrator of this very ḥadīth—act contrary to it? Never!
📌 Conclusion:
Deriving a fatwā from a weak report is academic dishonesty, especially when an authentic ḥadīth and a report with an authentic chain exist against it. The practice of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was to send women to the mosque, not to stop them.
📚 Hanafi Evidence #2 — Statement of ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr رحمه الله
The second Hanafi evidence is:
📌 5796 –
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ: “أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يَدَعُ امْرَأَةً مِنْ أَهْلِهِ تَخْرُجُ إِلَى فِطْرٍ، وَلَا إِلَى أَضْحَى”
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Vol. 4, p. 234, Ḥadīth 5796]
🔹 Translation:
ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr would not allow any of his women to go out for ʿĪd al-Fiṭr or ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā.
🔵 Response
① This is a statement of a Tābiʿī, and proof is established only by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the unanimous practice of the Companions. A Sunnah that continued from the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and through the practice of the Companions cannot be abandoned because of the statement of a Tābiʿī.
② Secondly, as for ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr رحمه الله, whose statement is presented here as evidence: in several other authentic reports his positions are clearly shown to be against the Hanafi position.
📚 Example 1 — Recitation Behind the Imam:
📌 279 –
مَالِكٌ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ: “أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْرَأُ خَلْفَ الْإِمَامِ، فِيمَا لَا يَجْهَرُ فِيهِ الْإِمَامُ”
📘 [Al-Muwaṭṭa’ of Mālik, Bāb al-Qirā’ah Khalf al-Imām]
🔸 Translation:
ʿUrwah used to recite behind the imam in those prayers in which the imam does not recite aloud.
❗ This statement is against the Hanafi madhhab, because they do not hold recitation behind the imam.
📚 Example 2 — Wudu after Touching Private Part:
📌 116 –
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُصْعَبٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ: “أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ مَسَّ ذَكَرَهُ، فَقَدْ وَجَبَ عَلَيْهِ الْوُضُوءُ”
📘 [Al-Muwaṭṭa’ of Mālik, Bāb: Mā Jā’a fī Mass al-Dhakar]
🔸 Translation:
ʿUrwah used to say that whoever touches his private part, wudū’ becomes obligatory upon him.
❗ This too is against the Hanafi madhhab, because they do not hold that wudū’ becomes obligatory from this act.
🔍 Question:
If the Hanafis accept as proof only this one report of ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr that agrees with their assumed position, why do they reject his other authentic reports?
📌 Conclusion:
The statement of ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr is not only unfit as evidence; since the Hanafis do not act upon his other statements, this double standard itself weakens their position.
📚 Hanafi Evidence #3 — Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr رحمه الله
The third evidence of the Hanafis is:
📌 5797 –
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ، عَنْ قُرَّةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ، قَالَ: “كَانَ الْقَاسِمُ أَشَدَّ شَيْءٍ عَلَى الْعَوَاتِقِ، لَا يَدَعُهُنَّ يَخْرُجْنَ فِي الْفِطْرِ وَالْأَضْحَى”
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Vol. 4, p. 234, Ḥadīth 5797]
🔹 Translation:
Qāsim ibn Muḥammad used to be very strict with young women and did not allow them to go out for ʿĪd prayers.
🔵 Response — Chain Criticism
This report is very weak, and its main defect is the ḥadīth standing of its narrator Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī:
📚 Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī said:
📌 491 – عبد الرحمن بن أبي حاتم، عن أبيه: “أبو داود محدث صدوق، كان كثير الخطأ“
📘 [al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim]
🔹 Translation:
Abū Dāwūd was a truthful (ṣadūq) muḥaddith, but he made many errors.
📚 Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī:
📌 2550 – سليمان بن داود، أبو داود الطيالسي: “ثقة حافظ، غلط في أحاديث“
📘 [Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb]
🔹 Translation:
Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī was trustworthy (thiqah) and a ḥāfiẓ, but he made mistakes in some ḥadīths.
📚 Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī:
📌 “أخطأ أبو داود الطيالسي في ألف حديث”
📘 [al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafā’ al-Rijāl by Ibn ʿAdī]
🔹 Translation:
Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī made mistakes in a thousand ḥadīths.
🛑 Narrators of the chain:
- Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī: kathīr al-ghalaṭ (made many mistakes), weak narration
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Qāsim: Maqbūl, acceptable when corroborated
📌 Conclusion:
To issue a fatwā that women should not go to the mosque on the basis of a statement resting on such a weak narrator is itself a distortion of the religion. When the very basis of the narration is weak, deriving a ruling from it is entirely invalid.
📚 Hanafi Evidence #4 — Statement of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī رحمه الله
In another evidence, the Hanafis present this statement of the eminent Tābiʿī Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī رحمه الله:
📌 5798 / 5844 –
حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنْ حَسَنِ بْنِ صَالِحٍ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: “كُرِهَ لِلشَّابَّةِ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ إِلَى الْعِيدَيْنِ”
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Vol. 4, p. 234]
🔹 Translation:
Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said that it is disliked for a young woman to go out for Eid.
🔵 Response — Contradictions & Double Standards
The Hanafis argue from this report, yet many statements of this same Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī رحمه الله are against Hanafi fiqh itself, and they never accepted them.
📌 Example 1 — Husband Giving Ghusl to Deceased Wife:
📌 229 –
مُحَمَّدٌ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ، عَنْ حَمَّادٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: “الْمَرْأَةُ تَمُوتُ مَعَ الرِّجَالِ، يُغَسِّلُهَا زَوْجُهَا… وَكَذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ مَعَ النِّسَاءِ، تَغْسِلُهُ امْرَأَتُهُ”
📘 [al-Āthār by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan]
🔹 Translation:
Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said that if a woman dies with her husband [present], her husband may give her ghusl; and likewise, if a man dies among women, his wife may give him ghusl.
📌 Whereas the statement of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah:
“أكره أن يغسل الرجل امرأته“
📘 [al-Āthār by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, p. 37]
🔸 That is: “I consider it disliked for a man to give ghusl to his wife.”
❗ Thus the statement of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī was abandoned.
📌 Example 2 — Execution of Apostate Woman:
📌 589 –
مُحَمَّدٌ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ، عَنْ حَمَّادٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: “تُقْتَلُ الْمَرْأَةُ إِذَا ارْتَدَّتْ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ”
📘 [al-Āthār by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, p. 35]
🔹 Translation:
If a woman apostatises from Islam, she is to be executed.
📌 Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan’s rejection:
“وَهَذَا قَوْلُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَلَسْنَا نَأْخُذُ بِهِ“
📘 [al-Āthār by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan]
🔸 That is: “This is the view of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, but we do not adopt it.”
📌 Example 3 — Amputation for Grave Robbers:
📌 635 –
مُحَمَّدٌ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ، عَنْ حَمَّادٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ: “النَّبَّاشُ إِذَا نَبَشَ عَنِ الْمَوْتَى فَسَلَبَهُمْ أَنَّهُ يُقْطَعُ”
📘 [al-Āthār by Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan]
🔹 Translation:
Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said that whoever steals shrouds from graves, his hand is to be cut off.
📌 Abū Ḥanīfah’s statement:
“لَا يُقْطَعُ، لِأَنَّهُ مَتَاعٌ غَيْرُ مُحْرَزٍ“
🔸 That is: “His hand is not to be cut off, because it was not secured property.”
📌 Conclusion:
The Hanafis themselves abandoned the statements of Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī and did not follow him; when they differ with him in major rulings such as marriage, wudū’, ghusl and apostasy, how can his statement about the Eid prayer ground be a proof? It is quoted only when the aim is to give artificial support to their own juristic position.
📚 Hanafi Evidence #5 — Statement Attributed to Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله
The fifth evidence of the Hanafis is a statement attributed to Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله:
📌 540 –
“وَيُرْوَى عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ أَنَّهُ كَرِهَ الْيَوْمَ الْخُرُوجَ لِلنِّسَاءِ إِلَى الْعِيدِ”
📘 [Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Jumuʿah, Bāb: Karāhah Khurūj al-Nisāʾ ilā al-ʿĪdayn]
🔹 Translation:
It is narrated from Sufyān al-Thawrī that he disliked women going out for Eid prayers.
🔵 Response — Weak Attribution & Clarification
Imām al-Tirmidhī uses the term “yurwā” (it is narrated), which is a form of ṣīghat al-tamrīḍ (indicating an unknown and weak chain). This shows that Imām al-Tirmidhī does not regard this statement as a proof.
🛑 In contrast, Imām Ibn Khuzaymah has transmitted, with an authentic chain, a narration of Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī:
📌 1677 –
قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: “حَفِظْتُهُ مِنَ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «إِذَا اسْتَأْذَنَتْ أَحَدَكُمُ امْرَأَتُهُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَلَا يَمْنَعْهَا»”
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Ḥadīth 1677]
🔹 Translation:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “When the wife of any one of you seeks permission to go to the mosque, let him not stop her.”
Sufyān added a clarification:
📌 “نَرَى أَنَّهُ بِاللَّيْلِ“ — “We believe this refers to night-time.”
📚 Explanation:
Sufyān did not oppose the ḥadīth, but rather restricted its application to night-time, based on ḥikmah (contextual wisdom)—not prohibition.
🛑 Thus the statement reported from him in Sunan al-Tirmidhī without a known chain contradicts his own authentic narration; and since Sufyān al-Thawrī himself transmitted and supported this ḥadīth, attributing prohibition to him is not correct.
📌 Conclusion:
To say that Sufyān al-Thawrī opposed women going to the mosque is a false attribution, because he upheld the authentically established ḥadīth “فَلَا يَمْنَعْهَا“. The time restriction may be his ijtihād, which does not abrogate the original ruling.
📚 Hanafi Evidence #6 — Statement of Umm al-Mu’minīn ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها
The biggest evidence of the Hanafis is the reported statement of Mother ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, which they present for an absolute prohibition of women going to the mosque:
📌 869 –
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ: “لَوْ أَدْرَكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ مَا أَحْدَثَ النِّسَاءُ لَمَنَعَهُنَّ، كَمَا مُنِعَتْ نِسَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ”
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Adhān, Ḥadīth 869]
🔹 Translation:
ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها said: “If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had seen what women have innovated (today), he would have prevented them (from going to the mosque) just as the women of Banū Isrā’īl were prevented.”
🟦 Response 01 — Clarification by Imām Abū Bakr al-Bazzār رحمه الله
📌 Imām al-Bazzār reported both the statement and practice of ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
“لقد رأيتنا ونحن نُصَلِّي مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ صَلاةَ الْفَجْرِ فِي مروطِنا، وما يعرف بعضنا وجوهَ بعض“
📘 [Musnad al-Bazzār, al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār]
🔸 Translation:
“We used to pray Fajr with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, wrapped in our cloaks, to the extent that we could not recognize one another’s faces.”
📌 Conclusion:
This sentence is a warning based on ʿĀʾishah’s رضي الله عنها own observation, not a ruling of the Sharīʿah. She is expressing regret over the carelessness of some women after the Prophet’s ﷺ death, not issuing a fatwā forbidding them from going to the mosque.
🟦 Response 02 — Explanation by Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله
📌 “إِنَّمَا أَشَارَتْ عَائِشَةُ بِمَا أَحْدَثَ النِّسَاءُ مِنَ الزِّينَةِ وَاللِّبَاسِ وَالطِّيبِ، مِمَّا يُخَافُ مِنْهُ الْفِتْنَةُ“
📘 [Kashf al-Mushkil min Ḥadīth al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, Ḥadīth 2576]
🔸 Translation:
ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها was warning against women’s adoption of adornments, perfumes, and fancy clothing, which could potentially lead to fitnah.
📌 Conclusion:
This is not a legal fatwā, but a moral and societal advisory that emphasizes the need for observing Islamic etiquette when attending the mosque.
🟦 Response 03 — Clarifications by Imāms Abū Bakr al-Naysābūrī, Ibn Ḥazm, and Ibn Ḥajar
📌 (1) Imām Abū Bakr al-Naysābūrī (d. 319 AH) stated:
“فَمَنْ قَصَدَ مِنْهُنَّ الْخَيْرَ لَمْ يُمْنَعْ مِنْهُ، وَإِنْ ظَهَرَ مِنْهُنَّ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ، مُنِعَ إِلَّا الْعَجُوزَ الْكَبِيرَةَ، فَإِنَّهَا تَخْرُجُ كَمَا قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَالشَّافِعِيُّ“
📘 [Al-Awsaṭ fī al-Sunan wa al-Ijmāʿ wa al-Ikhtilāf]
🔸 Translation:
If a woman goes to the mosque with a righteous intention, she should not be stopped. If she exhibits inappropriate conduct, she may be stopped — except for an elderly woman, who may go out, as Imām Mālik and Imām al-Shāfiʿī said.
📌 Conclusion:
The restriction is not absolute; it is context-based. Women seeking goodness are permitted to attend.
📌 (2) Imām Ibn Ḥazm al-Andalusī (d. 456 AH) said:
“أما ما حدثت به عائشة، فلا حجة فيه… لأنه ﷺ لم يُدرك ما أحدثن، فلم يمنعهن، فمنعهن بدعة وخطأ“
📘 [Al-Muḥallā bi al-Āthār]
🔸 Translation:
There is no legal weight in ʿĀʾishah’s statement. The Prophet ﷺ did not witness such behavior and thus did not prohibit it. To prohibit now is a bidʿah and an error.
📌 Conclusion:
The Prophet ﷺ never forbade women from attending, hence anyone doing so now introduces a bidʿah.
📌 (3) Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH) explained:
“فَإِنَّهَا عَلَّقَتْهُ عَلَى شَرْطٍ لَمْ يُوجَدْ… وَلَمْ تُصَرِّحْ بِالْمَنْعِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ كَلَامُهَا يُشْعِرُ بِالْمَنْعِ، فَالإِحْدَاثُ مِنْ بَعْضِ النِّسَاءِ، لاَ مِنْ جَمِيعِهِنَّ، فَيُمنَعْ مَنْ أَحْدَثَتْ، لاَ الكُلّ“
📘 [Fatḥ al-Bārī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 869]
🔸 Translation:
ʿĀʾishah attached the prohibition to a condition that was not met. She did not issue a direct prohibition. Only the one causing fitnah should be prevented—not all women.
📌 Conclusion:
Women should not be prevented in general, except in the case where fitnah becomes apparent. Until then, the original ruling remains in force.
📚 Practice of the Companions — Proofs of Women’s Mosque Attendance
When Hanafis rely on weak reports and Tabiʿī opinions, the authentic hadiths and actions of the Sahabah carry more weight.
📌 (1) Abū Qatādah رضي الله عنه:
868 –
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: “إِنِّي لَأَقُومُ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ وَأَنَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُطَوِّلَ فِيهَا، فَأَسْمَعُ بُكَاءَ الصَّبِيِّ، فَأَتَجَوَّزُ فِي صَلاتِي كَرَاهِيَةَ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَى أُمِّهِ“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 868]
🔸 Translation:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “I stand for prayer intending to lengthen it, then I hear the crying of a child, so I shorten my prayer, disliking to cause hardship to his mother.”
✅ Proof:
Mothers attended congregational prayers and even brought their children.
📌 (2) Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها:
866 –
عَنْ هِنْدِ بِنْتِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ: “أَنَّ النِّسَاءَ فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ كُنَّ إِذَا سَلَّمْنَ مِنَ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ، قُمْنَ، وَثَبَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَمَنْ صَلَّى مِنَ الرِّجَالِ“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 866]
🔸 Translation:
In the Prophet’s ﷺ time, women would leave immediately after the obligatory prayer, while the men and the Prophet ﷺ would remain briefly.
✅ Proof:
Women regularly prayed in congregation at the mosque.
📌 (3) ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
867 –
عَنْ عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ: “إِنْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَيُصَلِّي الصُّبْحَ، فَيَنْصَرِفُ النِّسَاءُ مُتَلَفِّعَاتٍ بِمُرُوطِهِنَّ، مَا يُعْرَفْنَ مِنَ الغَلَسِ“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 867]
🔸 Translation:
The Prophet ﷺ would finish Fajr prayer and the women, wrapped in their garments, would depart in darkness, unrecognized due to the early hour.
✅ Proof:
Women even attended Fajr, highlighting regular mosque participation.
📚 Practice of the Female Companions — Attendance at Eid Prayers
📌 (4) Umm ʿAṭiyyah al-Anṣāriyyah رضي الله عنها:
971 –
عَنْ حَفْصَةَ، عَنْ أُمِّ عَطِيَّةَ، قَالَتْ: “كُنَّا نُؤْمَرُ أَنْ نَخْرُجَ يَوْمَ الْعِيدِ، حَتَّى نُخْرِجَ الْبِكْرَ مِنْ خِدْرِهَا، وَالْحُيَّضَ، فَيَكُنَّ خَلْفَ النَّاسِ، يُكَبِّرْنَ بِتَكْبِيرِهِمْ، وَيَدْعُونَ بِدُعَائِهِمْ، يَرْجُونَ بَرَكَةَ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَطُهْرَتَهُ“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth 971]
🔸 Translation:
We were commanded to go out on the day of Eid—even the virgin girls from their rooms, and even menstruating women. They would remain behind the people, joining in the takbīr and duʿā’, seeking the blessings of that day.
✅ Proof:
This was a regular command of the Prophet ﷺ that women (even menstruating women) should come to the Eid prayer ground. Their attendance was not regarded as a cause of fitnah; rather, it was legislated and desired by the Prophet ﷺ.
📌 (5) Statement of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه:
5785 –
حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصٌ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ طَلْحَةَ الْيَامِيِّ، قَالَ: “قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: حَقٌّ عَلَى كُلِّ ذَاتِ نِطَاقٍ الْخُرُوجُ إِلَى الْعِيدَيْنِ“
📘 [Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, al-Āḥād wa al-Mathānī by Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim]
🔸 Translation:
It is obligatory upon every woman with a waistband (i.e. adult) to go out for the two Eid prayers.
✅ Chain Authentication:
- Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth: Thiqah
- Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh: Thiqah
- Ṭalḥah al-Yāmī: Thiqah
✅ Proof:
The first Caliph of Islam gave a religious verdict that women’s participation in the Eid prayers is religiously required. This is the fiqh of al-Ṣiddīq; ignoring it and trying to prove a prohibition merely from weak statements is against the religion.
📌 (6) Zaynab al-Thaqafiyyah رضي الله عنها — Wife of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
📖 Ḥadīth 1:
“إِذَا شَهِدَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ الْعِشَاءَ فَلَا تَطَيَّبْ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةَ“
📖 Ḥadīth 2:
“إِذَا شَهِدَتْ إِحْدَاكُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلَا تَمَسَّ طِيبًا“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 443]
🔸 Translation:
When any of you attend the night (ʿIshāʾ) prayer or the mosque, let her not wear perfume.
✅ Proof:
The Prophet ﷺ did not forbid women from attending—he only regulated their conduct.
📌 (7) Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
“أَيُّمَا امْرَأَةٍ أَصَابَتْ بَخُورًا فَلَا تَشْهَدْ مَعَنَا الْعِشَاءَ الْآخِرَةَ“
📘 [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 444]
🔸 Translation:
Any woman who applies incense should not join us for the last ʿIshāʾ prayer.
✅ Proof:
Again, the prohibition is for wearing perfume, not for attending the mosque.
📌 (8) Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله and His Mother’s Practice:
📌 Ḥamzah ibn al-Mughīrah al-Thaqafī (d. 180 AH), a narrator contemporary with Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, narrates:
“كَانَ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ يَجِئُ وَيَجِئُ بِأُمِّهِ مَعَهُ، وَكَانَ مَوْضِعًا بَعِيدًا جِدًّا، وَكَانَ ابْنُ ذَرٍّ يُصَلِّي إِلَى قُرْبِ السَّحَرِ“
📘 [Al-Intiqāʾ fī Faḍāʾil al-Thalāthah al-Aʾimmah al-Fuqahāʾ]
🔸 Translation:
In Ramaḍān, Abū Ḥanīfah used to go with ʿUmar ibn Dharr for the night prayer (Qiyām al-Layl/Tarāwīḥ) and would bring his mother with him, even though the mosque was far, and the prayer would last until near dawn.
✅ Proof:
The very Imām on whose authority the Hanafis forbid women from going to the mosque himself used to take his mother to the mosque.
🏁 Final Summary:
✦ The authentic narrations, practice of the Companions, and even Abū Ḥanīfah’s own conduct show clearly that:
✔ Preventing women from going to the mosque, for Eid or Tarāwīḥ, is against the Sunnah and the Salaf’s practice.
✔ The Hanafi arguments are based on weak narrations and selective opinions of the Tabiʿīn — which they themselves do not consistently follow.
✔ If “fear of fitnah” is used as justification, then women going to the market should also be stopped — yet to this day no jurist has issued a “Makruh Tahrimi” fatwā against going to the market.
✔ Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah should, following the example of the female Companions, allow women to come to the mosques.
