Answered by Shaykh Nazim Mangera
We (sisters) all had a little talk about how to pray (actions) in Islam. One of the sisters (sister X) said that in Islam we should pray like a man i.e. the exact way that the Beloved Prophet (SAW) prayed. We however disagreed following on from the Hanafi ruling. Sister X does not believe in any Mathabs and has little such knowledge of them. She refuses to believe in any of them and doing take notice of any of their rulings She started verbally saying that we pray like a camel and kneel like a dog according to a Hadith which she has herself interpreted (which she does with most of what she knows, we have however tried to tell her that you need to seek knowledge from someone more knowledgeable, but she refuses to accept this) Now, one of the other sisters (sister Y) who was with us at that time, has got highly offended and taken what sister X said to heart. She is cutting ties with the Sister X who said all these things. Sister Y is not talking, not praying next to, walks off in the presence of Sister X. Sister X has started to notice this and feels hurt. All the other sisters present at the time of the talk did not take much to heart about what sister X said but sister Y has. What do you think should be done about Sister X and Y. Should sister Y be doing what she is doing and how can she avoid being so rude to sister X and ignoring her? Do you think we should speak to sister Y about how she is hurting sister X. Sister X has a stubborn character and will not listen to anyone else’s point of view so it is pointless trying to get her to understand about the Hanafi ruling (we have already tried many times before). What do you think should be done? Me and another sister feel that this fitna should not be created over Islam as well and that we are all friends and we do not want to watch two sisters come apart because of their ignorance and stubbornness. Please please help us out here!
Assalamu Alaikum,
Our opinions will differ, but our hearts must always be united.
The differences in fiqh have been around for over a 1000 years. And they will remain because of the differences in intellect. It is impossible to come up with one united fiqh because we all understand the pristine teaching of Islam in different ways. So we have to stick with that. With that in mind, the Hanafi position about the method of female prayer is proven through various evidences:
Yazid bin Abi Habib reports that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam passed by two women who were praying Salah. He said, “When you prostrate, let part of your body cling to the earth, for women are unlike men in this regard.” (Abu Dawud, Baihaqi-3201)
Nafi narrates that the womenfolk of Abdullah bin Umar (R.A.)’s family would do tarabb’u i.e. to draw out one’s right leg towards the right side of the body and to place the left leg beneath the right leg. (Ibn Abi Shaibah 2748)
For more info on the method of prayer for women, please check out Sheikh Riyadhul Haq’s book: The Salah of a Believer in the Quran and Sunnah. It can be bought at: http://www.alrashad.com/books/fiqh.htm if you are in North America or if you are in England from the Sheikh’s website: http://www.shariah-institute.org/
The case of Sister X behaving is quite common nowadays where people who have a rudimentary knowledge about Islam suddenly become wannabe scholars. This is very dangerous for our hereafter. We do not do the same things in worldly matters so why then do we do it when it concerns our eternal life in the hereafter? We never pick up books of medicine or mechanics or anything else of that matter and start interpreting things according to our own limited intellect. We go to the experts of that field and seek their council. So why is that we are so full of pride when it comes to religion and faith on which our success of the perpetual life of the hereafter hinges? In all matters of our worldly life, we follow someone else. We follow our teacher. We follow our mechanic. We follow our doctor. We follow in every matter, but when it comes to religion, why don’t we follow those who sacrificed their whole lives in understanding the religion of Islam? Especially when it comes to matters like prayer. It’s not like the Salat is some new phenomenon and we can’t find any detail about it in the fiqh books. Even those who say that they don’t follow someone, they in reality follow someone. They either follow their own Sheikh’s interpretation or they follow their own intellect. So why not follow a method which has been researched for over a 1000 years? Why not follow the deductions of some of the greatest minds this world has ever seen?
Also, you should understand that, when you do have your get-togethers, you should make sure that when you discuss fiqh, people should be of the same school of thought. Discuss about everything else, but when it comes to fiqh, you have to make sure that people are like minded otherwise, these arguments are gonna happen. It is natural. Or announce it before you start the fiqh session that it is going to be according to the Hanafi School of thought. Then it would be rude for others to push their own’ opinions and hurt people’s feelings.
It is natural for Sister Y to feel hurt but that is no reason for her to act in the way she is acting. Our opinions can differ, but our hearts must always be united. That has been the exemplary behavior of the four Imams and the scholars of their respected Madhabs since ever and history is replete with such anecdotes. In Islam we are allowed to cut ties for legitimate reasons, but this is not one of them. If you want to, you can forward this reply to the appropriate people but for obvious reasons, you wouldn’t want to forward your question.
And Allah knows best
Sincerely,
Nazim Mangera
Islam will prevent us from sins or sins will prevent us from Islam