Answered by: Shaykh Shafiur Rahman
Question:
Can anyone provide examples of instances where something was permitted, but later became prohibited saddan li-l-dharāʾiʿ?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
A good example of this is women praying in the masjid. At the time of the Prophet AS and into the first two or three generations, there were no restrictions on women praying in the masjid as can be seen from the following hadiths.
Salim narrated it from his father (‘Abdullah b. Umar) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
When women ask permission for going to the mosque, do not prevent them. (Sahih Muslim Book 4, Hadith 884)
Narrated Ibn `Umar:
One of the wives of `Umar (bin Al-Khattab) used to offer the Fajr and the `Isha’ prayer in the congregation in the Mosque. She was asked why she had come out for the prayer as she knew that `Umar disliked it, and he has great ghaira (self-respect). She replied, “What prevents him from stopping me from this act?” The other replied, “The statement of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ): ‘Do not stop Allah’s women-slaves from going to Allah’s Mosques’ prevents him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 2, Book 13, Hadith 23)
However later in some schools like the Hanafi madhab discouraged young women from praying in the masjid at congregation time with men to prevent the means that may lead to problems/fitna.1 The context to this is given by some as due to the deteriorated safety and security situation in many cities like Kufa and Baghdad which made it quite unsafe for women to go to the masjid.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Shaykh Shafiur Rahman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 ” ويكره لهن حضور الجماعات ” يعني الشواب منهن لما فيه من خوف الفتنة ” ولا بأس للعجوز أن تخرج في الفجر والمغرب والعشاء
ص58 – كتاب الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي – باب الإمامة – المكتبة الشاملة