Can a group of women offer Friday prayer on their own, with one of them giving the Khutbah or sermon and then leading the congregation?
Women are not required to offer the Friday prayer. Instead, they offer the Zuhr prayer in the normal way.
However, if a woman, or a group of women, attend the Friday prayer in a mosque, it is perfectly appropriate and compensates them for Zuhr prayer. But the situation you are considering is not right. Why would women offer the Friday prayer instead of Zuhr when what is required is Zuhr? There is no advantage in that. Besides, God has exempted women from Friday prayer because it is easier for them to offer Zuhr, particularly when they have to attend to young children.
To establish something that Islam does not require is to create an imposition. This is not acceptable.
Could you please explain how a woman should conduct her grand ablution, or ghusl? Is taking a shower sufficient? May I also ask whether it is permissible to perform one’s ablution or wudhu when one is totally undressed?
The ghusl or grand ablution requires washing all one’s body with water. But Islam always makes things easy, so that we could comply with God’s order without having too much trouble. Since some women have long hair, which they make in plaits or a time-consuming style, they are not required to undo their hair. What a woman needs to do is to take a handful of water and rub her head with her hand. She does this three times before pouring water over the rest of her body. It is also recommended to start by doing the normal ablution, or wudhu. It is important to wash all one’s body. Therefore, a shower is a very good way of performing the ghusl. It is also good enough to have a dip in a swimming pool, a river or the sea, if one is able to do so without exposing her body before strangers.
If a person is taking a bath it is appropriate to perform the ordinary ablution, or wudhu, without having any clothes on. This is true in our modern houses where one is completely alone in one’s bathroom.
1. Why is there a difference among scholars about the Hijab requirements, with some saying that a woman need not cover her face and hands while others say that a woman commits a grave sin if she does not cover these parts of her body? Are the first ‘groups of contemporary thought,’ while the others are extremists? Why is it that we are required to show our faces and hands in the pilgrimage and the Umrah? Kindly explain.
2. I have tried to persuade my women relatives in Pakistan to cover their heads, but none of them has accepted my arguments. They insist that this was applicable to the Prophet’s wives only. They also say that to cover one’s head in Pakistan is to draw more attention, which a Muslim woman should not do. Could you explain what is the punishment Islam prescribes for a woman going out with her head uncovered? Could you also advise me how to make it crystal clear to them that Islam wants Muslim women to cover their heads when they go out?
1. Scholars may differ on any question, depending on their understanding of texts. Thus, a text in the Qur’an may be understood in more than one way. What makes a particular way more acceptable is the existence of supporting evidence in the Hadith. But then you have to look at the Hadith in its context. If a scholar knows a Hadith while another scholar is unaware of it, this may lead to divergent opinions. If we take a simple example: the Shaf’ie school of Fiqh considers it obligatory to follow the right order when washing the parts of the body that are required to be washed in ablution. The right order is that in which they are mentioned in the Qur’an. This school relies on the Hadith, which quotes the Prophet, peace be upon him, as saying: “Start with what is mentioned first by God.” The Hanafi school of Fiqh does not consider the right order obligatory. It is clear that this Hadith was not known to its founder scholars, or was rated as lacking in authenticity.
With regard to the question of women’s dress code, the difference between those who insist on covering the face and hands and those that say this is not required is the result of their different understanding of the texts. It is not a matter of being modern or extreme. It is merely a question of understanding, encouraged or supported by social background. For example, you find that the view that women must cover their faces and hands prevails in Saudi Arabia and Yemen much more widely than you find it in Egypt, Iraq and Syria, or in North Africa.
On the other hand, there is no question of the view that women’s faces and hands need not be covered is influenced by contemporary thought. You find this view expressed in the major works of all schools of Fiqh. Indeed, it is the standard view in practically all schools.
I am afraid the more restrictive view reflects rigidity in understanding certain texts. Such rigidity is due to the lack of a wider vision that takes all texts and other evidence into consideration. Take for example the Qur’anic verse which addresses the Prophet, peace be upon him, in person: “No other women shall henceforth be lawful to you, nor are you to replace any of them with other wives, even though their beauty should please you greatly.” (33: 52) This verse makes it clear to the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he is not allowed to have a new wife other than those he was married to. It means that it was revealed very late in the Prophet’s life. Yet it says to him ‘even though their beauty should please you greatly.’ How could the Prophet, peace be upon him, have found a woman’s beauty pleasing if she had her face and hands covered, in addition to covering the rest of her body? This verse is not directly related to the question of women’s dress, which explains why it is seldom quoted in this context. But it clearly states something about the way Muslim women appeared at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
2. This point does not really bear much argument. The order that describes women’s dress is included in verse 31 of Surah 24, which states, “And let them [i.e. women believers] draw their head-coverings over their bosoms.” This means that a head cover is the normal dress for a Muslim woman. Besides, she should bring it down so as to cover the top opening of her shirt of dress so as nothing of her bosom is left uncovered. When there is an injunction in the Qur’an, no one may say anything to contradict it.
Some people may seek any excuse in order to justify their lack of adherence to Islamic teaching. This is the wrong attitude. It is better for a person to acknowledge that he or she falls short of fulfilling Islamic duties than to try to negate the duty itself. A woman who does not wear proper Islamic dress when she goes out should not try to justify her action by any excuses. It is better for her to say that she hopes to be able to fulfill her duty in the near future. Meanwhile she seeks God’s forgiveness for her shortcomings.
As for our attitude towards such women, it should be one of continued love and friendship. We should remind them of their duty every now and them, and encourage them to fulfil it. However, their falling short of perfect Islamic behavior should be no reason to boycott them, because in this case we lose influence with them, and leave them to succumb to unhealthy influences. Moreover, we should remember that falling short in one’s duty does not make a person unfit to be friend. God may well forgive them. Indeed we should pray Him to forgive them and to give them the strength to fulfil His orders as best as they can.