CAIRO/WASHINGTON,
March 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslim women can lead women in
prayers, and children in supererogatory prayers, but they are
not allowed to lead the Friday prayer, which is not obligatory on
women, said a member of IslamOnline.net's Fatwa team.
It
is neither a discriminatory nor a derogatory measure not to allow
women to lead the worshipers in the Friday prayer, said Massoud Sabri.
“Attending
the Friday prayer is not a fard (obligatory) on women at the
first place,” he added.
The
London-based Arabic-language Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper
reported on Friday, March 11, that Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic
studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, will be the first woman
to lead a public, mixed-gender Friday prayer on March 18 in New York
City.
Wadud,
the author of the book Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text
from a Woman's Perspective, will also deliver the Friday sermon,
according to the paper.
Sabri
said women can lead each other and children in all prayers.
He
added that some Hanbali jurists said women can lead men in
supererogatory and Tarawih prayers and others said it is permissible
for them to lead men in funeral prayers.
“In
addition, other jurists said women can lead their family members,
including men, in prayers” Sabri said.
He
added that the majority of scholars agree it is impermissible for
women to lead men in the five obligatory daily prayers.
Sabri
noted, however, that in his book Al-Muhalla bil Athar
Imam Ibn Hazm quotes Imam Abu Hanifah as allowing, though not
favoring, women to lead men in prayers.
Imam
an-Nawawi, in his book al-Majmu`, quotes other scholars as
allowing women to lead men in prayers.
Unique
Status
Sabri
underlined that Islam does in no way take over women’s rights to
play a leading role in society; but rather has granted them with
wide-ranging freedoms.
Women
used to be in charge of the market place during the time of Caliph
`Umar Ibn Al-Khattab. Women have recently become doctors, scholars,
muftis, ministers and judges.
“Jurist
said women can assume high-level posts and some said a woman can even
assume the presidency if she is more qualified than men,” added
Sabri.
Islam
honors women and regards them as equal and vital to life as man. Their
rights are meant to preserve her identity, honor, and chastity.
In
one of his Hadiths (sayings), Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Women
are men’s counterparts.”
Sabri
cited the story of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a case in point.
“Khadija
(Prophet’s Muhammad’s wife may God be pleased with her) helped the
Prophet in his uphill struggle to spread the Islamic faith and his
eternal message. She also used to be a tradeswoman.”
Opposition
The
Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America has reiterated opposition to
Wadud’s decision.
In
a fatwa seen by IOL on Saturday, March 12, the Assembly said that
Muslim women cannot take the pulpit or lead Friday prayer; otherwise
the prayer is invalid.
It
said that throughout Muslim history it has never been heard of a woman
leading Friday’s prayer.
Wadud’s
camp cites in online statements Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) permission
to a woman called Um Waraka to lead her family in prayers.
But
the Assembly maintained that the story, if proved correct, has to do
with inside-home prayers involving women or family male members in the
extreme, but has nothing to do with Friday’s prayers.
Established
in 2002, the Assembly is a not-for-profit organization of Muslim
jurists and scholars, seeking to issue and clarify rulings of Shar`iah
(Islamic Law) concerning issues affecting Muslims in America.
