Women going to the mosque is quite controversial these days mainly because in many mosques there are no or inadequate facilities for the women who wish to pray there.
There are no verses that
directly speak of women praying at the mosque, the discussion is based on
evidence found in the Sunnah and the legislatory tools below it.General permissibility for women to attend the mosque
The Prophet's (peace be upon him) mosque is well known to have been one large space where both women and men prayed; the genders lining up in separate rows:
"The best rows for men are the first rows and the worst are the last rows; and the best rows for women are the last rows and the worst are the first rows." [Muslim].
Since the Prophet (peace be upon him) allowed women to attend the mosque then it cannot be impermissible since it is incumbent upon him to mention anything that is.
Recommendation for women to pray at home
It is well known that praying at the mosque and in congregation is superior to praying elsewhere and by oneself. There are some sound hadith that suggest an exception to this, in the case of women; prayer is superior at home. For example:
“A woman’s prayer in her house is better than in her courtyard, and her prayer in her own room is better than her prayer in the rest of the house” (Abu Dawud).
“The best Mosque for a woman is the inner part of her home.” (Musnad Ahmad)
The wording suggests that it is generally permissible for women to pray at the mosque however more reward is attained by praying at home. As an act of worship (ibadat) the reason behind this is with God. We could philosophise and start to ask the ontological question what is 'woman' and what is her relationship with God and society? But that is beyond the scope of this post (see further post here).
Classical works sometimes cite this as evidence for it being disliked (Makruh) for women to attend the mosque. The understanding here is that since praying at home is recommended (Mustahab) then the exact opposite carries the opposite ruling ie Makruh. By 'the exact opposite,' merely praying at the mosque is not what is meant, but rather for a woman to go to the mosque solely for the purpose of praying in the mosque, since it disregards the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Anything other than this is permissible, such as going to a class at the mosque and whilst there praying, or joining the congregational prayer at the mosque while passing etc.
Prohibition of stopping women going to the mosque
There are many hadith that prohibit stopping women going to the mosque. For example
"Do not prevent women from attending the mosque, even though their houses are better for them." [Abu Dawud]
This hadith confirms the above and clarifies that the superiority of praying at home should not be reason enough to prohibit women attending the mosque. In fact the command form may even suggests obligation; in other words, it is not permissible to stop women from praying at the mosque. However the wording of this hadith and others are more in line with that of recommendation, which the scholars of Islam have seemed to concur with.
The same hadith in a different narration also has the additional ending "but let them go out without perfuming themselves," [Abu Dawud]. This adds an exception to the prohibition albeit merely in an advisory tone; let women attend the mosque except if they wear perfume. The underlying cause ('illa) here could be argued as that which is attracting and draws attention, therefore anything with the same underlying cause is likewise an exception. What is and what is not, considered as attracting is relative to the cultural norms.
Companions limiting women going to the mosque
The second Caliph U'mar is said to have prohibited women from attending the mosque and this was agreed by consensus (ijma'). However, this is a misunderstanding as he allowed his wife to continue to attend prayers despite his personal dislike of it and he did not prevent women attending prayers. Rather he prohibited those that were flirting in the mosque. see: Did Umar ban women from the mosque?
A’isha (God be pleased with her) said: "If the Messenger of God had seen what the women of our time do, he would have forbidden them to go to the mosques just as the Israelite women were forbidden." (Bukhari and Muslim)
This narration from the Prophet's wife; A'isha, expresses a change in behaviour for the worse by some women in the community. This is not general, but specific to a group on account of the disturbance (fitnah) in the community. It is somewhat speculative to know what this fitnah was other than assuming it was against Islamic etiquette. It is certainly quite probable that the new cultures the early Muslim community experienced with is meteoric expansion may have been quite shocking for the Companions.
The great companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ud used to say to women at the Mosque during Friday prayers: “Go, your homes are better for you.” (Tabrani). It is impossible to think ibn Mas'ud would contradict the Prophet (peace be upon him) and so this statement could merely have been a way of teaching. There were many new converts and so either they did not know or perhaps the women of his community started to think it obligatory for them to attend.
The companions do not seem to have added anything new to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) teaching, but merely were more explicit in affirming that those whom were causing a social disturbance (fitnah) were prohibited from attending for the public's benefit owing to the new situation they found themselves.
Fitnah or not?
Fitnah is the main argument put forward for preventing or discouraging women from attending the mosque, for example in the authoritative work Al Hidaya (The Guidance) by al Marghinani (d. 1197 CE) it reads:
'Attending the congregation is considered disapproved for them (women), that is, the young women due to the apprehension of fitnah. There is no harm if the old women go out (for the congregation) ...'
The distinction made between younger and older women is meaning that of sexual desirability rather than literally one's age and so the fitnah described is that of arousing lust. It is difficult to gauge the effect of the perceived fitnah during the time of its writing and even what it actually was, although the discussion does go on to suggest the fitnah is the disturbance women endured by the presence of corrupt (fasiq) men. Confusion arises whether these personal opinions from different times and places are applicable here today.
Incidentally, prohibiting someone for prayers owing to the fitnah they cause is just as applicable to men as it is to women. The greater public's protection takes precedence over an individuals benefit. However, owing to the greater emphasis on men attending prayers at the mosque (generally it is viewed as an emphasised recommendation [Sunnah mu'akkadah], but some have ruled it necessary [wajib]) the fitnah caused would likewise have to be more evident.
Conclusion
Loosely what can be understood from the above is that the emphasis for men to habitually attend congregational prayers at the mosque is not the same for women. Although she may attend as it is permissible; it is a matter of spiritual choice for the individual. However, usual Islamic ettiquettes should be observed by all (men and women) to avoid anything unbecomming of a place of worship, such as being dressed properly and lowering one's gaze.
The fitnah mentioned by some scholars today and of the past does seem somewhat of their own opinion - respected and insightful though it may be - and not from any objective evidence. It would be very interesting to a conduct a modern scientific study to see the effects of womens' presence at the mosque. The fitnah must be a very real and tangeable threat to social harmony for it to prohibit women or indeed anyone else attending the mosque. Relative to the norms of our society, I would argue that such a fitnah does not exist since it is common place to be in mixed environments such as co-ed. schools etc and to see images of beautiful people in advertising etc. Also the corrupt (fasiq) people no longer attend prayers. Therefore the presence of beautiful women at the mosque is not out of the ordinary or likely to give rise to harasment and so to generally class it as a fitnah seems inappropriate.
I would also argue that the ruling of general permissiblity for women to attend the mosque may in modern Britain move to recommendation under the remit of the objective (al Maqasid) preservation of religion; since muslim women may rarely meet and be with other practicing Muslims. It also seems more in keeping with the Divine command to:
{bow your heads with those who bow theirs} [2:43]
The verse is general and applies to all Muslims and whilst it may suggest praying in congregation, it does also mean to be with the people of humility.
The lack of facilities for women in some mosques seems to have no precedent in Islamic Law and it actually causes more harm than the harm it is supposed to be removing. It is common for women to be mobile and so by not having facilities it is forcing them to either pray in the street or even delay their prayers!
This post is not brining something startlingly new, in fact I would argue that the almost paranoid disapproval of women attending the mosque by some is that which is new. As Muslims we need to turn back to our tradition, understand it and then be creative in its application, to do other than this is a type of suicidal obsurdity, as one of my teachers said (phrased in his lovely Lebanese accented English): "you let the women watch TV, go to the market, go to the cafes and restaurants, but the mosque? No way! What is this?"
And God knows best
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