The Ruling on Women’s Prayer Halls, Closing Shops During Prayer, and Women’s Hijab in Mosques

Question:
These days, issues are being raised in the newspapers, such as the innovation of women’s prayer halls, or closing shops during prayer. What is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh?

Answer:
You know now that there are people. Ah. Among. The wicked who doubt matters of religion.
Some of them have taken up the issue of women and the issue of hijab, the issue of free mixing, and they want to dilute the status of women, and to remove the differences between men and women, and to place women alongside men, until the differences disappear, and there is no hijab, and there is no modesty, and there is no shyness, so that the Muslim woman becomes the same as the disbelieving woman. They want this. And among them, as the questioner mentioned, are those who deny the existence of a barrier between women and men in the mosques. There is no doubt that the Sunnah came down stating that women should be behind the men in prayers, and that they should leave before the men leave, and that the men should wait until the women leave. All of this is to prevent free mixing, even in places of worship. So what about free mixing in the markets, in the offices, in...
Likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade seclusion, the seclusion of a man with a woman. He said: No man is to be alone with a woman except with... They want to remove this as well, and to make the woman and the man alone together, so that Satan may come between them. Their schemes are many.
And the fact that women are separated from men by a barrier, this is a covering for them, and so that the woman can have her comfort. So if there is a barrier between her and the men, she has her comfort, and nothing of her is exposed. But if there is no barrier between them, this burdens the woman in prayer. It imposes some hardship on her. If something happens from her, if something of her is exposed, some fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) occurs, and some embarrassment occurs. So if there is a barrier, this is what gives the woman comfort and gives the men comfort as well. So this barrier that is placed is only for the purpose of covering the women from the men, and covering the women from the men is required. And the Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them) would perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat in the mosque) in the mosque, and barriers were made for them. Barriers were made for them, or partitions were made for them in the mosque, for the sake of covering, so that the woman could be able to pray, to remember Allah, without anyone seeing her. So this is a required matter. They want to remove these differences between men and women in order to eliminate shyness and chastity, and in order to achieve their desires, and in order to return the woman to the state of the disbelieving women. But Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) is watching them, and He will frustrate their expectations. And the Muslims do not pay attention to these nonsense things they say. And praise be to Allah, enjoining good and forbidding evil is established. The teaching of the rulings of the Shari'ah, including the hijab and the rulings concerning women, is established and present. So they will not be able to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, and praise be to Allah, they are doomed, if Allah wills.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, Your Excellency the Shaykh