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Should women just pray at home? Can a woman leave her house?

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Is it recommended for a woman to pray in the furthermost corner of her home and not to come out unless for a legal need?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The best place of prayer for a woman is in her home, actually in her boudoir, which is usually her bedroom as has been affirmed in a rigorously authenticated hadith, because it is more concealing for her. However, it is permissible for her to go to the masjid to pray and attend circles of learning which benefit her in her religion, for it has come in a rigorously authenticated hadith, “Do not forbid the female slaves of Allah from the masjids of Allah.”

It has also been affirmed in authenticated traditions, that the wives of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and the female Companions did go to the masjid and perform i`tikaf in it. They even went to the marketplaces and the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, did not disapprove of them doing that, nor did the Imams after him. This is because they used to go out in a modest and proper manner where no part of their nakedness was revealed, and they did not provoke any kind of fitna, nor did they come in improperly close contact with men.

Verily, what is disapproved of is when women go out in such a manner that causes fitna because of their beautifying themselves, perfuming themselves, revealing parts of their nakedness and mixing with men who are not their mahram and coming into actual contact with them in places of over crowdedness and the like, where it is usually unavoidable, such as marketplaces and other places where people gather.

For this reason, A`isha said, may Allah be well pleased with her, “If the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, knew what the women are doing today, he would have forbidden them to go to the masjid in the same way that the ladies of the Children of Israel were forbidden.”

What we can understand from her saying, is that the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, did not forbid women from going to the masjid, but the only reason for preventing them from going would be because of them beautifying themselves and the like, as the scholars have explained.

Amjad Rasheed

[Translated by Sr. Shazia Ahmad]

السؤال : هل ينبغي للمرأة أن تصلّي في أقصى بيتها ؟ وأن لا تخرج من البيت إلا لضرورة شرعية ؟ الجواب : أفضلُ صلاة المرأة في بيتها بل في خدرها وهو غرفة نومها كما ثبت ذلك في الحديث الصحيح ؛ لأنه أسترُ لها ، لكن يجوز لها الخروج إلى المسجد للصلاة وحضور حلق التعليم مما ينفعها في دينها ففي الصحيح :” لا تمنعوا إماء الله مساجد الله “. وثبت في الآثار الصحيحة خروجُ زوجات النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم والصحابيات إلى المسجد والاعتكاف فيه ، بل وإلى الأسواق ولم ينكر علهينَّ في ذلك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ولا الأئمة من بعده؛ وذلك أنهنَّ كنَّ يخرجن بهيئة محتشمة متسترة لا يبدو شيءٌ من عورتهن ولا تجلبُ الفتنة ولا تلاصق الرجال . وإنما المنكرُ هو خروجُ النساء على هيئة تجلب الفتنة من التزين والتعطر وكشف شيء من العورة ومخالطة الرجال الأجانب وملاصقتهن عند الازدحام ونحو ذلك مما لا تخلو منه الأسواق ومواطن اجتماع الناس ؛ ولذا قالت السيدة عائشة رضي الله عنها :” لو يعلم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ما أحدث النساء من بعده لمنعهن المساجد كما منعت نساء بني إسرائيل”. فمفهومٌ من كلامها أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يكن قد منع النساء من الخروج إلى المسجد ، وإنما الموجب لمنعهن هو ما أحدثنه من الزينة ونحوها كما بينه العلماء .

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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