The default is for the woman to remain in her home, and her leaving it is either for a need or for a matter in which a dispensation is granted
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. You are asking in another form, Shaykh Salih, and you say: Are there special cases in which it is better for a woman to go out than to sit in the house, whether this is for work or for visiting?
The Shaykh:
It is better for her to remain in her home, and her leaving it is only for a need, which is a matter in which a dispensation is granted. Her remaining in her home is better, even if her going out is to the mosque, which is going out for worship; remaining in the house is better than that. So how about her going out to somewhere other than the mosque? This is clear in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)Sunan Abi Dawud 566 and their homes are better for them. Her prayer in her house is better for her than her prayer in the mosque. If this is the case regarding worship, how much more so regarding other matters? Yes.
The questioner:
So, is her leaving her home for work, for visiting, or out of fear of a specific thing, a matter of dispensation or a matter of obligation in that case, Shaykh Salim?
The Shaykh:
It is a matter of dispensation, a matter of dispensation and need. Yes.
The questioner:
So remaining in the house is the rule in all circumstances.
The Shaykh:
No.
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. You are asking in another form, Shaykh Salih, and you say: Are there special cases in which it is better for a woman to go out than to sit in the house, whether this is for work or for visiting?
The Shaykh:
It is better for her to remain in her home, and her leaving it is only for a need, which is a matter in which a dispensation is granted. Her remaining in her home is better, even if her going out is to the mosque, which is going out for worship; remaining in the house is better than that. So how about her going out to somewhere other than the mosque? This is clear in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
Do not prevent the female servant your women from visiting the mosques of Allah.
لا تمنعوا إماء الله مساجد اللهThe questioner:
So, is her leaving her home for work, for visiting, or out of fear of a specific thing, a matter of dispensation or a matter of obligation in that case, Shaykh Salim?
The Shaykh:
It is a matter of dispensation, a matter of dispensation and need. Yes.
The questioner:
So remaining in the house is the rule in all circumstances.
The Shaykh:
No.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 4952- الأصل بقاء المرأة في بيتها وخروجها منه إما للحاجة أو أمر مرخص فيه - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.