Answered by: Shaykh Umer Khan
Question
Assalamu Alaikum. We are having a Jalsa today in the Masjid. The ladies and mothers who have their periods, can they not come at all?
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In the Ḥanafī madhhab, a woman may not enter a Masjid during menstruation[1]. However, it is important to understand what a Masjid is. A musallah (a place where prayer is performed) is a temporary place where people get together for prayer and would not carry the same rulings as a Masjid, therefore women may enter it during menstruation. Similarly, a Masjid building may contain only certain designated/official spaces that are the actual Masjid itself. It may also contain a lobby, halls, classrooms, and other rooms above or below the Masjid or within the same building which is designated for other purposes. If, when the Masjid was constructed, these rooms were intentionally excluded from being a strict part of the Masjid, then a woman may attend classes and lectures there.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Shaykh Umer Khan
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] Marāqī al-Falāḥ, 63