Explanation of the Hadith: “The best rows for women are the last ones”
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Question:
The questioner, Sister H. A. M. from Riyadh, says in her question: We are a group of women who pray in the mosque in Ramadan in a place separated from the men, such that they do not see us and we do not see them. I have noticed that the sisters do not complete the front rows or straighten them. Some of them have cited the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he says:Sunan Abi Dawud 678Sahih (Al-Albani).
So I told them that this hadith refers to when women used to pray behind the men without a barrier, but the situation is different now. However, they did not listen. We ask your Eminence to inform us about what is prescribed in this matter, as this is the case in many mosques of the Muslims? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The hadith mentioned is valid, but the scholars understand it to mean the situation I mentioned, which is that there is no barrier between the men and the women. As for when the women are hidden from the men, the best of their rows is the first, and the worst is the last, just like the men. They must complete the front rows, one after the other, and fill the gaps, just like the men, due to the generality of the authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this. May Allah guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with.
The questioner, Sister H. A. M. from Riyadh, says in her question: We are a group of women who pray in the mosque in Ramadan in a place separated from the men, such that they do not see us and we do not see them. I have noticed that the sisters do not complete the front rows or straighten them. Some of them have cited the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he says:
the best of the men’s row is the first and the worst of them is the last, but the best of the women’s rows is the last and the worst of them is the first.
خير صفوف الرجال أولها، وشرها آخرها، وخير صفوف النساء آخرها، وشرها أولهاSo I told them that this hadith refers to when women used to pray behind the men without a barrier, but the situation is different now. However, they did not listen. We ask your Eminence to inform us about what is prescribed in this matter, as this is the case in many mosques of the Muslims? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The hadith mentioned is valid, but the scholars understand it to mean the situation I mentioned, which is that there is no barrier between the men and the women. As for when the women are hidden from the men, the best of their rows is the first, and the worst is the last, just like the men. They must complete the front rows, one after the other, and fill the gaps, just like the men, due to the generality of the authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this. May Allah guide everyone to what He loves and is pleased with.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.