Can a woman be an Imam?

Re: Can a women be an Imam?

YusufNoor said:
A`udhu Billahi mina Shaytanir Rajeem,

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Assalamu 'alaykum,

a woman can lead women in prayers but a woman can't/shouldn't be an imam or imamma, if you like. if a woman was an imamma, then everyone would know when her period is because she would be absent for that. not the kind of thing you want the whole ummah to know about...

:w:
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Thats true, but
this problem does not occur if women imams lead prayers in women-only mosques as is done in China.
 
Re: Can a women be an Imam?

Because woman are so highly charged sexually they will attempt to molest the men praying?
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men are so weak, and so unable to control themselves that they would not be able to focus on god.
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Lets leave the above saying to a side, it is as simple as its not part of the sunnah.



ella said:
A small number of scholars allow women to lead men who are her maharam, if she is the most learned amongst them and in the confines of her home as Umm Waraqah was ordered to do so and so was Aisha. Umm Waraqah lead only the members of her household in Prayer, she was not given an order to lead the Prayer in the mosque.

Regards,
Ella
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Hi

I do not know where you the explanation from. If you gathered this from your own understanding know that it is wrong. It is not part of the sunnah for women to lead men in prayer!

Men and women are not the SAME, each have a different role in certain aspects of Islam on saying that that does not mean they are unequal. She may not even lead her own father!

The Prophet pbuh asked Umm Waraqah and ‘Aa’ishah (ra) to read WOMEN in prayer not men don't misunderstand the hadiths.


If women gather together in one house in accordance with the conditions mentioned above, 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, 591; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 493.

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…”

Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 153-155.

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.

Al-Mughni, 2/17

http://www.islam-qa.com/special/index.php?ref=65965&subsite=14&ln=eng
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Re: Can a women be an Imam?

Emperor said:
As I understand it, there Muslim men and women in China attend separate mosques. There are men-only mosques and women-only mosques. The latter are led by female imams.
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i would need a website refernce for that if possible
 
Here's what one of our Muslim scholars in Malaysia has to say about women leading prayer;


Text of the response from Shaykh Muhammad Afifi:

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate and Merciful.

Alhamdulillah al-muwaffiq li-s-sawab!
  • Masha'allah; indeed we are living in interesting times! Aren't we taught to shy away from the position of Imam and that Imamship is a burden as the Imam acts as the guarantor for his or her followers? Who would want such a responsibility!
  • It would be best for us not to dignify those who wish to go against the general consensus [ijma' al-'amma] of the Muslims (may Allah forgive them!) in this mas'ala [legal case] by responding with a discussion of the scriptural evidences [ta'arrud al-adilla], primary and otherwise, of why in Islam women simply do not lead men in the formal prayer [Salat]just as Catholics think it inconceivable or some Protestants find it damagingly schismatic for a woman to lead the formal liturgical services), but not so in offering other prayers [Du'a], conducting a class, or - subject to the differences of opinions, rahmatan [out of mercy], among the jurists of our ummah - in becoming the judge of a courtroom or even, executing the affairs of a nation.
  • Instead, a student of fiqh and a jurist can only do what must be done in this case, that is to inform the Muslim public, and to remind ourselves our knowledge of Fard 'Ayn in this matter that our daughters and sons should know even before they reach the age of baligh [pubescent], the legal ruling and the status of the prayer of a woman who has led a mixed congregation made up among women, men also.
  • As a Shafi'i, I can only relate what our own Mujtahid Imam himself have said in the motherbook of our books [Kitab al-Umm by Imam al-Shafi`i rady Allahu `anh] about the status of those taking part in that congregation (and of course, this ruling applies only to those men whose knowledge of this was before the event and were conscious of what they were doing):
  • "If a woman leads men, women and male children, the Salat of the women [the woman Imam including the women Ma'muns] are valid whereas the Salat of the men and the male children are invalid. This is because Allah (Glory and Exalted is He!) has made men supporters of women and has discouraged them from becoming protectors and so forth. It would not be permissible for a woman to be an Imam of a man in any prayer at any time whatsoever. Likewise, were a disputed hermaphrodite [khuntha mushkil; i.e., his male characteristics being more dominant over his female ones]to be among those following the woman in Salat, his Salat in her company would not have been valid." [Umm, 1:292]
  • So, alhamdulillah, if it was a case of leading one of the five daily Salats, the lady and her women followers are absolved from any misconduct and they would have in this case fulfilled their minimum religious duty and that only the men who had followed them in this are sadly the only losers from this affair and will have to make up their prayers [qada'] again.
  • If, however, it was a case of leading the Friday Prayer, then, according to our [Shafi`i] school, even the Salat of the womenfolk in this case will be insufficient [ghayr mujzi'ah] and unfortunately invalid in which case everyone there must later make up their Zuhr prayers.
  • If it was the case of the Friday Prayer, then I for one, find it humorous why those who are not obligated to perform the Jumu'ah and have been given dispensation from not doing so would go heads over heels to attend and moreover lead it. Surely, it will be a hardship for the umma, especially today, if our women are expected to also perform the Friday duty. (The original fiqh ruling [asl] for them to attend is only Mandub and not Wajib.) I am sure that even the "Progressive Muslim" women of Malaysia will not welcome the thought of relinquishing the *rest* they enjoy that day? Didn't Allah the Most High say: wa-mA ja'ala 'alaykum fI d-dIni min Harajin [He did not impose hardship on you in religion](al-Hajj, 78)? And as in the Hadith of Tariq b. Shihab (may Allah be well pleased with him!) makes clear, our beloved Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him!) said: "al-jumu'atu Haqqun wAjibun 'alA kulli muslimin fI jamA'atin illA arba'atan mamlUkun wa-mra'atun wa-Sabiyyun wa-marIdun" [The Friday [prayer] is something obligatory upon every Muslim in congregation except for four [people]: a slave, a woman, a child, and a sick person.] (Related by Abu Dawud, al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi.)

++Fa'ida++ [Benefit]
  • Unlike the Friday Prayer, a woman may even become an Imam for the 'Id Prayer for her same-sex congregation. She could do all of this except for the formal sermon [khutba] which has to be delivered by a man since this is among the condition [shart] of the khutba. However, if the women wanted, (but the hukm is khilaf awla [=status of contrary to best]) they could even do without the man and his formal khutba and have in his place, a woman. This is permissible and valid in our school-except that that on a point of technicality, her talk is not called a khutba but a maw'iza. This is made clearly by Imam al-Bujayrimi (may Allah be pleased with him!) among others in the Hashiya of the Iqna': "Likewise [to have the khutba after the two rak'as of the 'Id Prayer, even if it is directed to a congregation made up of only] for women. However, only a man can deliver the formal sermon. On the other hand, if a woman were to stand and deliver a talk to them without a formal sermon, there is no harm in doing so." [Bujayrimi, Iqna', 2:447].
  • It is not a surprise therefore that armed with this precedent, for example, we find today in Indonesia of mosques that offer exclusive 'Id Prayers for women only led by women scholars. Aren't these the progressive and efficient ones who work within the framework of our laws and our processes?

[gfh: And among the Hui women of Central China also with their women-only schools and mosques cf. www.smh.com.au]
  • One hikma arising from this American event is that it will ironically be something of a bad press for the "Progressive Muslim" women in a country like Malaysia where the issue of a woman leading a man in Salat is simply a non-issue nay even a turn off. There, the general audience, whether men and women will be able to preview the package of 'progressive' light waiting at the end of this tunnel and indeed scare people away from it. Equally, the other hikma should be a warning for us men who have transgressed and have been unjust [zulm =>wad' al-shay' fi ghayri mahallihi] by abusing his position of authority and trust; let this episode be a wakeup call for the Muslim communities everywhere especially if we have denied the rightful rights of our mothers and our sisters to drink from the founts of knowledge and share our fontes sapientiae. Nothing happens without a reason and students of theology know only too well that it is but natural (for it is from Sunnatullah) that all forms of imbalances and injustices will inevitably undergo divine correction [ta'dil] even if in the process the temporary solutions turn out to be extremely perverted. The lesson for our men is to be aware that the original grievances and questions leading to these distorted answers are often right and legitimate. May Allah open our eyes and make us understand that which we know not!

  • Those who are blessed with knowledge and use their common sense will in the end come to realize that despite the deviations by certain sectarian groups such as the Khawarij and the irregularities of at most one or two jurists, the Umma has never practiced nor accepted nor witnessed a precedent in any of our communities since the earliest times until today the practice of a woman leading a man in Salat. This indeed is a genuine case of a misguided innovation [bid'a dalala], a type of khilaf that is not from rahma but of fitna, and a munkar that deserves to be censured and kept well away from our children. Wouldn't it be more beneficial for a "progressive" women group to come down from these lofty issues and fight instead the bread and butter ones and address the real problems faced on the ground by our sisters today such as their physical welfare and education?


~~Hikaya~~ [A Story]
  • Perhaps, in this group's overzealous calls towards equality and freedom on behalf of our women, they had overlooked two separate legal issue: the case of a woman leadership vs. Imamship. For this, we may derive benefit from the following true story that happened in Malaysia during the recent general election for a parliamentary seat contested by two candidates: an Imam of a famous mosque vs. a Muslim woman (note: the presence of Muslim women MPs in this country is a normal sight).
  • During the election campaign, in his attempt to curry favour with his constituency, the Imam questioned the suitability of the woman for the office arguing that religiously, she could not even lead the Salat. She responded famously by saying: "That's OK, let him remain an Imam in the mosque but give her his parliamentary seat!" In the end, this cost him his seat. fi-ha kifaya li-ahli l-'ilm! [A sufficient lesson for the knowledgeable]
  • Subhanallah: how true are the words of one of our great predecessors, Imam Abu Zakariyya al-Razi (may Allah sanctify his secrets!) for both the woman and the man respectively in this congregation: "I am amazed at someone who seeks something extra while abandoning a duty!"
  • And masha'allah: this episode shows how appropriate were the words of our great Imam, Abu Bakr al-Warraq (may Allah sanctify his soul!)who remarked that most of what is spent in our time are 4 x 4: "(1) the extras over the obligatory; (2) the outer form over the inner state;(3)other people over oneself; and (4) speaking over action".
  • I end with a du'a and a reminder for myself mostly: allAhumma innA na'Udhubika min 'ilmin lA yanfa'u wa-min 'ilmin yaSiru Hujjatan 'alaynAfI yawmi l-qiyAma [O Allah, protect us from knowledge which are useless and from knowledge that will become a proof against us in the Next world!]

Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti
1st Safar 1426
12 III 2005

Select Bibliography:

al-Bujayrimi. al-Bujayrimi 'ala al-Khatib wa-huwa Hashiyat
al-Bujayrimi
al-Musammat Tuhfat al-Habib 'ala Sharh al-Khatib al-Ma'ruf bi l-Iqna'
fi Hall Alfaz Abi Shuja'. 5 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1996.
al-Shafi'i. al-Umm. Edited by Mahmud Matraji. 9 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1993.

End of the response from Shaykh Muhammad Afifi, Allah reward him!

 
Re: Can a women be an Imam?

zaki.aumeerudy said:
Morroco is not an islamic country .It is the country of sorcery
u have open markets where all u want to practice occult/black magic/sorcery are sold in open air with the approval of the state
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Are there any countries in existence that can be said to be truly Islamic?
What are your thoughts on this?
 

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