Where should women offer Salaat?

 

 

Where should women offer Salaat?

 

The very word ‘Aurat means to cover up.  Their beauty is for the house.  For this reason, Islam permits them to step out of the house only when in great need.  For her sake, Islam has laid many constraints on this.  She has to have her husband’s permission and to ensure against indecency, she has to be in proper Hijab.

 

When the question of women leaving their houses for offering Salaat comes up, anyone’s deduction or opinion doesn’t count, one should look at what the Hadith say.  The Hadith explicitly say that for women, the best place to offer Salaat is their own house and the best place in the house is the innermost room of the house.

 

There is a Hadith in this regard in Sunan Abu Dawood and other books:

 

Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (May Allah be well pleased with him), he says that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  For a women, offering Salaat in a room is better than offering Salaat in the hall and offering Salaat in the cellar (or the innermost room) of the house is better than offering Salaat in that room.  (Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith No. 713)

 

Apart from the aforementioned source, this Hadith is also present in the following books:

 

Mustadarak ‘Alas Sahihain, Hadith No. 570

Musannaf ‘Abdur Razzaq, Hadith No. 5116

Sunan Kubra Lil Baihaqui, Hadith No. 9369/9370

Mo’jam Ausat Tabarani, Hadith No. 11155

Sahih Ibn Hibbaan, Hadith No. 2251

Sahih Ibn Khuzaima, Hadith No. 1579/1595

Kanz Ul ‘Ummaal, Hadith No. 20869

Majma’ ‘Uz Zawaaid, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 525

Zujaajatul Masabeeh, Hadith No. 1654

 

Imam Hakim (author of Mustadarak) has declared this Hadith as rigorously authenticated as per the standards of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim.  Imam ‘Abdul Razzaq has related this Hadith and the following words are also related:  ..When a woman steps out of her house for Salaat, Satan starts stalking her.  In Majma’ ‘Uz Zawaaid, Imam Haithami has said about the narrators of this Hadith that they are the narrators of rigorously authenticated Hadith.

 

The aforementioned Hadith warns women of the harmful consequences of stepping out of the house for the sake of offering Salaat.  Women should not be eager to go out of their houses for offering Salaat.  There are both good and bad people in the world.  Their business is to satisfy their carnal urges by ogling at women.  It is for the women to decide – do they want to be in the crosshairs of such people or do they want to be in the presence of their Lord Almighty?  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

 

Translation: No woman has worshipped Allah Most High better than when she worships Him in her own house.  (Mo’jam Kabeer Tabarani, Hadith No. 9367)