We the women have many questions relating to Taraweeh in congregation. Here, we are going to attempt to answer some of them bi-iznillah.
1. At home or in the masjid?
It is better for women to pray in their own house, and in an inner part of the house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that it is better for women to offer obligatory prayers in their houses than to pray in the mosque, so it is more apt that this should also apply to naafil prayers.
It was narrated from Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best mosques for women are the innermost parts of their houses.” (Narrated by Ahmad)
Indeed it is better for a woman to pray in her home than to pray in congregation in al-Masjid al-Haraam (in Makkah) or in the Prophet’s Mosque behind the Prophet himself (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It was narrated from Umm Humayd, the wife of Abu Humayd al-Saa’idi (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, I love to pray with you.” He said: “I know that you love to pray with me, but your praying in your room is better for you than your praying in your house, and your praying in your house is better for you than your praying in your courtyard, and your praying in your courtyard is better for you than your praying in the mosque of your people, and your praying in the mosque of your people is better for you than your praying in my mosque.” So she gave orders that a ‘mosque’ be built for her in the innermost and darkest part of her house, and she used to pray there until she met Allaah (i.e., died). (Narrated by Ahmad)
It is preferable for a woman to pray in her house rather than in her courtyard, and in the mosque of her people rather than in the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), even though one prayer offered in the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is equivalent to one thousand prayers offered in any other mosque. This is the evidence that the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “One prayer in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers in any other mosque” refer only to men and not women.
Al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeem Abaadi (may Allaah have mercy on him)said:
It is better for women to pray in their houses because then there is no danger of fitnah. This ruling is even more emphatic because of the wanton display (tabarruj) and adornment of women.
2. Does that mean you are not allowed or forbidden to go to the masjid?
The word used is ‘better’. It is not forbidden to go to the masjid, but the better option has been specified.
Regarding going to the Masjid, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“There is nothing wrong with women attending Taraweeh prayers so long as there is no danger of fitnah, subject to the condition that they go out in a decorous manner, not making a wanton display of their adornments or wearing perfume.”
3. What is the women want to gather in the home of one of them to pray taraweeh in congregation?
If women gather together in one house in accordance with the conditions mentioned like no fitnah and so on, it is permissible for them to pray in congregation. The one who is leading them in prayer should stand in the middle of the (first) row, not out in front, and she should not lead men in prayer even if they are her mahrams. She should recite our loud just as men do in the prayers where reciting out loud is required, so long as no men except her mahrams can hear her voice.
It was narrated that Umm Waraqah bint ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Nawfal al-Ansaariyyah asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for permission to appoint a muezzin in her house who would call her to prayer, and he told her to lead the people of her household in prayer. (Narrated by Abu Dawood)
And it was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that she would give the call to prayer and lead other women in prayer, standing in the middle of the row.
And ‘Aa’ishah led women in obligatory prayers, standing in the midst of them.
And it was narrated that Hujayrah bint Haseen said: Umm Salamaah led us in prayer standing in the midst of the women.
And it was narrated from Umm al-Hasan that she saw Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), leading women in prayer, standing with them in their row.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, after narrating these reports:
In conclusion, these reports are sound and may be acted upon, especially since they confirm the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Women are the twin halves of men…”
SubhanAllah! Did that not make you happy? Alhamdulillah..
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
She should recite out loud in prayers where it is required to recite out loud, but if there are any men present, she should not recite out loud, unless they are her mahrams, in which case she may do so.
4. What about taking the children to the masjid? Should the children be banned from the masjid because of the disruption ?
Women should not be banned from bringing their children to the mosque in Ramadaan, The Sunnah indicates that women used to come to the mosque, bringing their children, at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because of the hadeeth “I start to pray, intending to make it long, then I hear the crying of a child so I make it short lest I cause hardship to his mother.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) carried Umaamah during an obligatory prayer when he was leading the people in prayer in the mosque.
But they have to try to protect the mosque from najaasah (impurities) and also pay attention to the children’s rights such as sleep and so on. ( Fatwa of Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Ibraheem)
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said regarding the children: “”They should be allowed to come as it says in the ahaadeeth: “What is good for the earlier generation is good for the later generation.””
5.Can there be a separate congregation (jamaa’ah) for women when there is a congregation for men?
The basic principle is that it is not prescribed to have two congregations in the mosque at the same time, because that is dividing the Muslims and they will disturb one another. But if there is a reason for that, such as the women not being able to hear the voice of the imam, then there is nothing wrong with having a separate congregation for the women with one of them leading them in prayer, when there is also a congregation for the men. But that is subject to the condition that the two congregations will not disturb one another.
It is proven that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with them) did that during Taraweeh prayers in the mosque, when they appointed an imam for the men, and another for the women.
Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in an essay entitled Qiyaam Ramadaan:
“It is prescribed for the women to attend it – i.e., Taraaweeh prayer – and it is permissible to appoint for them an imam of their own, other than the imam of the men. It is proven that when’Umar told the people to pray Taraweeh in congregation, he (may Allaah be pleased with him) appointed Ubayy ibn Ka’b to lead the men and Sulaymaan ibn Abi Hathamah to lead the women.
It was narrated that ‘Arfajah al-Thaqafi said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to enjoin the people to pray qiyaam (Taraweeh) during Ramadaan and he would appoint an imam for the men and an imam for the women. He said: I was the imam for the women.
I (al-Albaani) say: That is permissible, according to my understanding, if the mosque is spacious, lest they disturb one another.”
6. What if you are late for the congregation and miss isha and everybody has stood up for taraweeh?
Shaikh Ibn Baaz said: “There is nothing wrong with him praying with them with the intention of praying ‘Isha’, according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. When the imam says the salaam, he should stand up and complete his prayer”
7. How many Rakaat in Taraweeh?
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is proven that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) told the one whom he appointed among the Sahaabah to pray eleven rak’ahs, and it is proven that they prayed twenty-three rak’ahs based on his command. This indicates that the matter is broad in scope and that the matter was flexible according to the Sahaabah. That is also indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “The night prayers are two by two”
8. What if you want to pray tahajjud later at night? Should you pray witr with the imam?
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allaah preserve him) said: It is better for the person who is praying behind the imam to follow the imam until he finishes Taraweeh and Witr, so that he will have stayed with the imam until he finishes, and the reward for spending the whole night in prayer will be recorded for him. This is what Imam Ahmad and other scholars did.
Based on this, if a person prays Witr with him (the imam) and finishes with him, there is no need to do another Witr at the end of the night. If he wakes up at the end of the night he may offer whatever prayers Allaah has decreed for him, two rak’ahs at a time. And he should not repeat Witr, because there should not be two Witrs in one night.
Some scholars regarded it as preferable to pray Witr with the imam and do an additional rak’ah, by standing up after the imam says the salaam and then doing another rak’ah and saying the salaam, and then praying Witr at the end of tahajjud.
Hope this clears up a lot of the confusion in sha Allah.
Until next time,
As salamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatahu
LIFE 