Is it permissible for a woman to remain in the mosque and recite the Qur'an?

The questioner : Could you repeat the first argument for why it is not possible to supply the words "places of prayer"? In the second case you mentioned, you said...

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you for the first case. Intention is linguistic. If there is a phrase in any Arabic speech, whether Qur'an, Sunnah, athar, or hadith, the default is not to interpret the speech figuratively. Here, for example, one of the interpretations supplies a deleted modifier, saying "do not approach the places of prayer." This supply is contrary to the default. If the speech can be understood with or without the supply, then not supplying it is preferable.


The questioner : Well, the command for menstruating women is to avoid the place of prayer. In this context, the command on the night of the festival is that they should go out and avoid the place of prayer. Is not the stronger opinion the one that says "places of prayer"?

The Shaykh : No, we say it this way because the place of prayer is the location of the prayer. Here, they do not pray, so they stay away from the place of prayer. There is no text stating that it is obligatory, or that it is not permissible for them to enter the mosque, or that it is not permissible for them to remain in the mosque. If the pure women are prevented from praying, they should not occupy the places of the pure women. Then, the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), in its two narrations and two stories, is clear evidence of permissibility. As for the first hadith, in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Aisha: . Here there are two things: the first is "enter the mosque and hand me the water skin," and the second is "what is wrong with your entering the mosque and taking the water skin? Is your menstruation in your hand? Your menstruation is not in your hand." This is a text, or at least like a text, that a menstruating woman may enter the mosque. Even clearer is her other hadith during the Farewell Pilgrimage. When they stopped at a place known as Saraf, near Mecca, they naturally set up tents, especially for the women. The Messenger (peace be upon him) entered upon Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and found her crying. He understood her condition from her state, . The pilgrim enters the Sacred Mosque, let alone other mosques, and the pilgrim recites the Qur'an, and so on. So he permitted her to do and perform everything the pilgrim does, except for prayer and circumambulation of the House. If he (peace be upon him) had intended for her not to enter the mosque, it would have been more fitting for us, let alone for him (peace be upon him), to say to her, "Do not approach the mosque," because if she did not approach the mosque, she would not be able to circumambulate. And forbidding the part does not necessitate forbidding the whole...

The questioner : As for sa'y, she can perform sa'y...

The Shaykh : No, here is another issue, and it is a matter of scholarly disagreement. Is sa'y a form of tawaf or not? That is the first point. Second, is there sa'y without tawaf? There is no sa'y without tawaf.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : So she is not permitted to perform sa'y. Naturally, it is linked to tawaf. We hold that it is not permissible for her to perform sa'y, because of the verse that says . It named sa'y as tawaf, so she does not perform tawaf unless she is in a state of purity.


The questioner : Meaning, sa'y requires wudu'...The student : ...

The Shaykh : Yes, only the Sunnah resolves people's problems, whereas taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) complicates matters for people. Now, most girls in most schools and colleges are violating the Shari'ah that Allah commands them to follow, despite the objections of their shaykhs, and they know this, while the Sunnah is broader than that. For example, a person in a state of major ritual impurity is told to purify himself. It is better for you to recite the Qur'an without touching it while you are pure and purified, than to recite it while you are in a state of major ritual impurity. But for a menstruating woman, that cannot be said, because she cannot purify herself religiously until her menstruation ends.

The questioner : Therefore, she can recite the Qur'an while she is menstruating.

The Shaykh : Then look at what these complications and strictnesses cause in terms of losing religious benefits. You know that it is from the Sunnah that a Muslim does not sleep until he recites Surat Tabaarak. If he places his side to sleep, he recites the Verse of the Throne, which protects him from all evil from jinn or humans. If it is said that a menstruating woman does not recite, she loses all these benefits and does not surround herself with such Qur'anic protections. What is the evidence for that? Nothing stands up except the sayings of "Allah knows best" regarding the proponents of that view in the original. As for the muqallids (those who follow without evidence), they bring narrations, but they do not hold up under modern scientific hadith criticism.

The questioner : Is the evidence for permissibility or for the ruling?

The Shaykh : Those who said it is prohibited?

The questioner : What is the evidence...?

The Shaykh : The evidence, according to scientific logic, is of two types: one is negative, and the other is positive. The negative is the absence of a prohibiting evidence. This is a rule. I mean, what is this called, Yusuf Fandi... and so on. Is it all permissible? Go down now, find a verse or a Prophetic hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that it is permissible? No, because the default for things is permissibility. Someone might say, "It is not permissible." We say to him, "Bring the proof," because the default is permissibility. And so it is with the issue you are asking about. The evidence that you called positive was mentioned earlier, namely reciting the Qur'an at sleep or in supplication. But attached to that is, for example, his (peace be upon him) saying: . "Whoever" is a word of inclusion and generality among scholars. Meaning, if we want to explain in a clearer phrase, whoever recites the Qur'an, for every letter he has ten good deeds. Do you see that this general rule includes the menstruating woman and the one in a state of major ritual impurity? No one can say no. So these evidences are evidence for the permissibility of reciting the Qur'an in any state a person is in. So it is upon the one who says it is not permissible or forbidden to bring the evidence. And alas, alas. There is a hadith from Ibn Umar in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, he says: . If this hadith were authentic, the issue would be resolved. But upon studying the chain of the hadith first, and looking at the opinions of the hadith masters second, it became clear that this hadith is worth nothing. Its chain is weak, and Imam Ahmad says of it that it is a denounced narration. A denounced narration. Another hadith mentioned by our Salafi brother is also weak, and although its weakness is not as severe as the first, if it were authentic, it would not contain evidence for prohibition. Because the hadith says: . This was the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); he used to recite the Qur'an to us except in the state of major ritual impurity. This does not indicate prohibition. It can be said to indicate recommendation or preference, and there is no issue or dispute in that. A person reciting the Qur'an while in a state of complete purity is undoubtedly the best. But the issue is whether it is forbidden. This hadith, even if it were authentic, did not indicate that. Especially since it is contradicted by an authentic hadith in Sahih Muslim, narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: . This is the opposite of that, meaning it does not contain an exception, even though its chain is authentic.