# Is it better for women to pray at home than in the mosque?

*Women in the Prophet's mosque: the sahih evidence against the closet reports*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kusevqg0low/s/4/
- Date: 2019-05-04 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Daniel Haqiqatjou and Women praying in the Wardrobe -Mufti Abu Layth (15:11–23:20)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuSevqg0low&t=911s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kusevqg0low/

**Topics:** Women in worship and mosques; Reports demeaning women

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No: sahih hadith show women regularly praying in the Prophet's mosque, the Prophet forbade stopping them, and Umar and Ali provided imams for them.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the reports placing a woman's prayer at home above the Prophet's mosque go against the sahih hadith of women attending the mosque.

**Evidence, his words at 15:47:** “it goes against that which is Asahi ad it goes against the hadith that many women would come inside Buhari they would leave fajr salah” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuSevqg0low&t=947s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says many sahih hadith show women attending the prayers, and that the hadith that prayer in the Prophet's mosque is more virtuous than elsewhere except Makkah contradicts the claim. He cites the reports in al-Bukhari of women leaving the Fajr prayer unrecognised in the dark, and the command not to prevent women from the mosques. Aisha's remark that the Prophet would have prevented women had he seen what they did, he says, was a statement, and she forcibly prevented no one; he cites Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla asking whether zina, harassment and hypocrites did not exist in the Prophet's time. He adds that Umar and Ali appointed imams for women, that the mosque had a women's door, and that the Maliki madhhab holds the Prophet's mosque more virtuous than the Kaaba, calling the claim that any local mosque is better for women than the Prophet's mosque an affront typical of Wahhabis, though not all Salafis would say it. He ends with Ibn Umar's anger at his son, in Sahih Muslim, for saying he would stop his wife going to the mosque.

## Sources and names cited

- report: prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere except al-masjid al-haram
- report: the women would leave the fajr prayer and could not be recognised because of the darkness (cited as in al-Bukhari, number not stated)
- report: do not prevent the female servants of allah from the mosques of allah
- report: if the prophet had seen what the women do now he would have prevented them from the mosque (Aisha)
- Aisha
- Ibn Hazm
- al-Muhalla (Ibn Hazm)
- Umar ibn al-Khattab
- Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Imam Malik
- al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Prophet's mosque)
- Wahhabi
- Ibn Umar
- report: ibn umar rebuked his son who said he would prevent his wife from going to the mosque (cited as in Sahih Muslim)

## Transcript (machine tier, 15:11–23:20)

[14:32] and if you want I'll use the whole of it and then she her famous response was actually no I'll go with the whole of it she says that was revealed to me that so that was the actual story I'm not making that up that was the story of sagittal abiy and salem al-kitab but anyway we digress as we often do right coming back from the word must now write a must that didn't mean a closet although many of these you know these strongly homophobic

[15:11] people that's where they may be Allah Allah Allah Allah Allah WA anyway nevertheless right so let's take a look at what was the problem with what Daniel was quoting first of all you have to understand that there are sorry hadith many sahih hadith of women attending the prayers this sahih hadith of the Prophet saying that Salah in my Masjid in this Masjid is more virtuous than anything and Salah

[15:47] anyway and then in the rewired in some rewired except in the harem except in Makkah now this this hadith completely destroys that that's to say well oh no the Prophet was saying that no not for women it isn't right so it goes against that which is Asahi ad it goes against the hadith that many women would come inside Buhari they would leave fajr salah and some of the people describing say always to see the women going and we couldn't it was still dark we couldn't even tell who was who that's when we used to pray for jo know what were those

[16:25] women doing why were they evening the virtuous act why does the sahi thin side Buhari sale a time now all it might a lion masajid do not prevent women from going to the mosque and if people are gonna quote what I shadowed allahu anhu said that oh if the prophet knew what women would do today then he would have prevented them from going to the mosque look i shuttle the allahu anhum may have said something like that as a statement she didn't forcibly prevent any woman from going to the mosque she didn't and the Prophet would have had the insight if you meet

[17:04] you know like some scholar Abner Haslam has a whole article has a whole section dedicated in his Mahalo to this where he point after point and goes through this and says well when you say things have gone bad how have they gone back what you mean like Xena he says are you saying Xena didn't used to happen in the time of the Prophet he says that are you saying that there wasn't you know if you're gonna say all no men might be groping women or doing are you saying this didn't happen in the time of the Prophet that there was nothing like this going on this plenty of hadith like this going on are you saying that men and women weren't having affairs in the

[17:44] time the prophet of course they were they some of them even approached the Prophet are you saying they weren't hypocrites and people like that around in the time of the Prophet of course they were so even has amend several paragraphs arguing this with several points that what are you saying that wasn't there at the time of the Prophet when you're saying this now you're also walking away from many of these sahi teachings you you're in essence saying that these women had a virtue so let's say for example I could do something that's more virtuous or I could do

[18:22] something that's less virtuous and those women that coming to the mosque are doing something less virtuous they're rejecting what is more virtuous and yet nobody is telling them whoa wait a minute what are you guys doing here you ought to be just that you ought to be just at home yet we see even after the Prophet during the time of Umar or the Ilan even in the time said neither the law on that they had allotted Imams they had even said as I said earlier of the long run it has Umbridge a transmission as

[19:01] well that that he had set up an imam just for women in the Masjid so he says woman tariqa or fajar and I leave now batalik can yet more nutmilk emfe ramadan for usually originally a madman well let me say a moment the same Hollywood have an imam for the men and an imam for the women and average' says for amaura need for a montañesa that i used to lead the women in in in salah now there used to be a whole entrance for women in the masjid which said no more facilitated and the whole thing of

[19:39] baboon Mesa what was this what were they is this just a macro I because isn't this makrooh then leaving something that is much more virtuous than praying in the prophet's mosque even according to that absurd ridiculous narration that daniel has presented prep for the woman to pray in any mosque is better than her that is closer to her home is better than for her to pray in the prophet's mosque completely devaluing the mosque of the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam typical of

[20:17] these Wahhabis I'm telling you I mean I'm not saying this stereotypically like I mean I'm not I don't mean to generalize against because not all selfies will make such absurd statements about praying in closets Imam Malik said Ramallah that the masjid of the messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam to us as muslims is the most virtuous place on earth above the kaaba formerly keys to us Medina is above Makkah right that is how the Maliki mother has been that is our Imam Malik tortoise that is how carvaka diamond are we if not above all these people present

[20:57] even my roots now some of them this is some of the Maliki's may disagree but the Maliki mad hub has always been that the masjid of the prophet sallallaahu salaam to us is more virtuous than the Kaaba and more virtuous than any place on earth as an Islamic Association why because that is where the messenger of allah salallahu alaihe salam lays now how can you say one absurd ridiculous statement to say for women any local masjid so long as it's in an alleyway close to their home is more

[21:35] virtuous than the prophet's mosque for them just because the address is a bit closer to where they live this is an affront this is ridiculous right so and these narrations just two walls you know on on that these narrations that he brings even has them and these other people demonstrate these colors that these generations are actually no cool right they are right they are utterly fabricated and all extremely weak now I will and do you know something they ignore Marathi alone on this inside

[22:14] Muslim if not Omar had a discussion with his son Bilal and his son said oh I'm gonna stop my wife from going to the mosque and and he said no the Prophet said you're not allowed to stop women from going to the mosque he his son said oh no I'm gonna stop her anyway he in that narration in Sahih Muslim he says he swore to his son so bad that I'd never the person says I'd never heard if normal ever sway that bad he said to him I told you that the prophet of God said something and you're telling me that you know you like oh but I'm gonna stop her

[22:51] anyway right right so this is now but let's take a look at these narrations that he's bringing okay right okay no I'm just trying to bring them up so we just go through them quickly okay so

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment KuSevqg0low/s/4. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/kusevqg0low/s/4/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.