1. Q55.
Why are women not allowed in the mosque?
Answer.
1. There is not a single verse in the Qur’an which prohibits women from entering the
mosque and there is no single authentic Hadeeth which I know of which states that the
Prophet (pbuh) prevented or forbade women from going to the mosque.
There is only one Hadeeth which could be misunderstood to mean that women should
not go to the mosque. That Hadeeth is as follows: ‘The prayer of women is better in their
house than in the mosque and the prayer of women is better in their rooms than in their
house.’
If you base your conclusion only on this single Hadeeth, then you may wrongly conclude
that it is not advisable or preferable for women to go to the mosque. As I mentioned
earlier, your conclusion cannot be based only on one Hadeeth neglecting or ignoring all
the other Ahaadeeth. The context of the Hadeeth is also very important.
The Prophet (pbuh) said that if a person prays in the mosque he gets 27 times more
blessings (Sawab). Some women argued that they had infants at home and other
household work and therefore could not go to the mosque. Thus the men have a greater
advantage than women for receiving such blessings. It is then that the Prophet said the
above Hadeeth that ‘The prayer of women is better in their house than in the mosque
and the prayer of women is better in their rooms than in their house’.
Hence, the conclusion is that in situations where women have infants and household
work, which too is an important duty that cannot be neglected, women would not be
deprived of the sawab (blessings) if they pray in their own house.
2. There are several Ahaadeeth which prove that both men and women went to the
mosque during the life of the prophet:
(i) The Prophet said, ‘Do not prevent the female servants of Allaah from going
to the mosque of Allaah.’
(ii) And husbands were specifically told by him, " When your women folk ask
you for permission to attend the mosque, do not prevent them." (Sahih Bukhari
Volume 1, Book of Salaah, Chapter 80, Hadith No. 832)
(iii) From the time the Prophet (pbuh) entered Madeenah, after Hijra, till his
demise, he never prevented women from entering the mosque.
(iv) During the time of the Prophet (pbuh), women not only went to the mosque
for prayer but also for religious education and literary discussions as the
mosque was the centre of community. Several Ahaadeeth tell us that the
Prophet (pbuh) addressed people in the mosque, and the audience consisted of
both Muslim men and women, and women many a times asked questions to the
Prophet (pbuh) in the mosque.
(v) Even at the time of Hazrat Umar (R) women went to the mosque. The
famous incident in which a lady from the back seat of the mosque objected to
Hazrat Umar (R) considering an upper limit to meher, is very well known.

2. (vi) During the Prophet’s (pbuh) time, mosques had separate entrances for
ladies. Women filled the mosques from behind while men had separate
entrances and filled the mosques from the front. In between the two sections
were children who acted as a buffer zone.
(vii) It is reported by Abu Husainah that the Prophet (Pbuh) said: "The best row
for men is the first, and the worst for them is the last. The best row for women
is the last, and the worst is the first." (Muslim)
3. Islaam permits women to pray in mosques. Ladies should have separate and equal
facilities. Islam does not permit the intermingling of sexes. Otherwise there will be a
similar scene in mosques like other places of worship where some people even come for
‘bird watching’ and eve teasing.
4. In recent times, women are not allowed in mosques in a very few countries especially
in India and the neighbouring countries. Otherwise in most of the other countries,
women are allowed in mosques. Women are allowed in mosques in Saudi Arabia, in
U.A.E, in Egypt, in U.S.A, in England, etc. They are also allowed in the Haram Shareef in
Makkah and in Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madeenah.
Allahamdulillah, the trend is now changing in India . We have several mosques in India
and a few in Mumbai which allow women to pray in mosques (masaajid).