Ibn Hazm al Zahiri’s Encouragement of Women Attending the Mosque (credit sh Akram Nadwi) 🧵🕌🧕🏽

1️⃣ If the women attend the prayer along with the men, it is good, because of what has come in sound narrations. – Ibn Hazm

Narrated by Anas: “I have never prayed behind any imam whose prayer is lighter and more complete than the Prophet, upon him be peace. He would hear the cry of a baby, then he would make the prayer lighter, for fear that his mother will be distressed” – Bukhari

2️⃣ If women (not in the mosque but with other women) pray in congregation, and one of them leads the prayer, it is still good, because there has not come any revelation prohibiting them from that. – Ibn Hazm

It’s reported in al Bayhaqi that Aishah the mother of the believers led women in Maghrib prayer, and she stood in the middle of them and recited the Quran aloud.

3️⃣ Ibn Hazm teaches that the adhan & iqama (calls to prayer) are not obligatory on women. But if they say the adhan and iqama, it is good.

4️⃣ Ibn Hazm mentions that it’s not lawful for a husband, a father or a guardian of a woman to stop her from attending the congregation in the mosque for worship.

The messenger stated clearly to not stop women servants of God from attending the mosque of God. – Bukhari

5️⃣ Women’s prayer in congregation is better than their prayer alone. Ibn Hazm’s opinion is that the hadiths which mention the merit of the prayer in congregation are not specific to men, rather they are general and include both women and men.

6️⃣ Ibn Hazm wrote on the weakness of such narrations that prefer women to pray in their homes.

7️⃣ All the people of the earth agree that the Messenger of God, upon him be peace, never stopped the women from praying with him in his mosque until he died, nor did the rightly guided caliphs do this after him.

📚👉 Further reading: Ibn Hazm on the lawfulness of women attending prayers in the mosque presented, translated & annotated by Mohammad Akram Nadwi.