What did the Prophet do? [4]
(sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)
An Evaluation of the "Islamic Basis"
for Female-Led Prayers
Prepared by Ali Yahya [ 1 2 3 4 5 ]

A response to Nevin Reda's article: What Would the Prophet Do? about Muslim women leading prayers

[ In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful... ]

The Hadeeth of Umm Waraqah

The main evidence of the female-led Jumu'ah advocates is the hadeeth of Umm Waraqah. It was related by Aboo Daawood [43], Ahmad [44], and others, with various wordings. In it, she relates that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) allowed her to have someone call the athaan at her home and she would lead the people of her household in prayer.

But this hadeeth is not valid evidence for several reasons:

 - 1 - The authenticity of this hadeeth is questionable. Its chains of narration revolve around one narrator, al-Waleed bin Jumay' [45], who has been considered error-prone. On top of that, he narrates it through two individuals, Laylaa bint Maalik and Abdur-Rahman bin Khallaad, both of whom are unknown. [46] Hence, though some hadeeth scholars have accepted the narration, its authenticity, as we say, is questionable.

 - 2 - The narration of ad-Daaraqutnee [47] specifies that Umm Waraqah was leading the women of her household in prayer. This becomes clearer when we consider that the narrations of al-Haakim [48], al-Bayhaqee [49], and Abu Nu'aym [50] state that she was leading the obligatory prayers. We know the importance that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) placed upon males' attending the obligatory prayers in the masjid; he contemplated burning the homes of those who pray at home, and commanded a blind man without a guide to come to the masjid. It is unlikely, therefore, that the male members of Umm Waraqah's household would abandon the masjid and lag behind to pray with her.

This, accordingly, is what most scholars have understood the hadeeth to mean: that Umm Waraqah was leading the female members of her household. Ibn Khuzaymah reported the hadeeth in his Saheeh under the heading: A Woman Leading Other Women in the Obligatory Prayer. [51] Ad-Daaraqutnee placed it in a chapter he entitled: Women Praying with a Woman Leading Them. [52] And Al-Bayhaqee's heading was even more explicit: A Woman Leading Other Women, Not Men. [53]

 - 3 - Even if we were to assume – for the sake of argument – that the hadeeth was authentic, and that Umm Waraqah was leading males, it would still not support what the so-called "progressives" are calling for. A woman leading the male members of her household, in the privacy of her own home, and a woman standing in front of the multitudes on Friday and delivering the khutbah are two separate and distinct issues, as should be obvious to anyone seeking the truth.

However, Reda does not stop at the apparent meaning of this hadeeth. In a mind-boggling display of sophistry, she interprets the word "daar" (household) to mean "tribe" and concludes from the fact that Umm Waraqah had a mu'ath-thin (caller to prayer) that she had a congregational masjid in her home and that all the members of her clan were praying behind her. Neither of these conclusions is sound. The word "daar" in this context cannot be used to signify anything other than household, and that is how all the commentators upon the hadeeth have understood it to mean. Likewise, calling the athaan does not necessitate that a large congregation is gathering. In fact, it in itself does not necessitate that there be a congregation at all; the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) has said:

"Your Lord marvels at a shepherd at the top of a mountain crag who calls the athaan and prays. Allah says: 'Look at this servant of mine: he calls to the prayer and prays. He fears Me; I have forgiven him and granted him Paradise." [54]

Also, the fact that the word "masjid" is used in one narration does not mean that there was a congregational mosque. The word masjid literally means: a place were sajdah (ie. prayer) is made. Hence, the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"The whole Earth has been made a masjid for me,
and a means of purification." [55]

When used with reference to a person's house, the word "masjid" simply means the part of that individual's home reserved especially for prayer.
Besides, if Umm Waraqah was doing something as monumental as leading her entire tribe five times a day, wouldn't the narrator have said so explicitly, instead of resorting to this cryptic and secret service mode of expression? And wouldn't this fact have been widely known, and have reached us in more than just one weak narration? The "masjid" of Umm Waraqah, like the "math-hab" of al-Muzanee, is nothing more that a figment of Reda's imagination.

Distorting the Quran

Reda, in her attempt to legitimize female-led Friday prayers, also enlists several verses from the Quran. For example, she interprets the ayaat in which Allah condemns the Arabs for killing or being ashamed of their baby girls as being a prohibition of any form of "gender discrimination." But it just doesn't follow: there's a big difference between killing women and holding that they cannot lead mixed-gender prayers. Indeed, if any form of differentiation between the sexes is "gender discrimination and a way of abasing female Muslims," what does Reda say about the verses which clearly do so, such as in the matters of inheritance, marriage, and financial responsibilities? Reda may feel that such distinction is "injustice," but 14 centuries of right-thinking Muslims – male and female – have not.

In fact, it seems that Reda deliberately distorts or conceals certain Quranic passages to support her opinion. For instance, she claims that the Queen of Sheba is "the Quranic role model for a positive leader." But when we read the soorah to which she refers us, what do we find?

( But (the hoopoe) stayed not long, he (came up and) said: "I have grasped (the knowledge of a thing) which you have not grasped and I have come to you from Saba' (Sheba) with true news. I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given all things (that could be possessed by any ruler of the earth), and she has a great throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytaan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from (Allah's) Way, so they have no guidance... ) [27:22-4]

Reda also refers us to Ayah 35 of Soorah Aali-'Imraan. But if we read the next verse, we find that which demolishes her entire thesis:

( Then when she delivered her (child Maryam), she said: 'O my Lord! I have delivered a female child,' - and Allah knew better what she delivered, 'And the male is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam (Mary), and I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast. ) [3:36]

[ Part Five: Conclusion - Compare and Contrast... ]

FOOTNOTES

[43] #591, 592

[44] vol.6, p.405

[45] See Ibn Hajar, Taqreeb at-Tahtheeb #7482, and ath-Thahabee, Meezaan al-I'tidaal #9362

[46] Taqreeb at-Tahtheeb, #8909 and #3880

[47] At-Ta'leeq al-Mughnee 'alaa Sunan ad-Daaraqutnee (Pakistan: Nashr as-Sunnah) vol. 1, p. 279. Ahmed al-Banna mentions this narration in his Buloogh al-Amaanee, which is Reda's primary source in her research, on the very page to which Reda refers us in her footnote. It would, accordingly, be difficult to avoid the conclusion that she was aware of this clarifying narration, and deliberately concealed it from her readers.

[48] #733

[49] As-Sunan al-Kubraa (Riyadh: Maktabah ar-Rushd, 1425) vol. 3, p.194

[50] Hilyah al-Awliyaa' vol. 2, p. 63

[51] #1676

[52] At-Ta'leeq al-Mughnee 'alaa Sunan ad-Daaraqutnee; vol. 1, p. 279

[53] As-Sunan As-Sughraa (555)

[54] See Saheeh al-Jaami' (8102)

[55] Reported by al-Bukhaaree (335) and Muslim (521)

MORE FROM THIS SERIES

Part One: A Guiding Principle: Adhering to the Understanding of the Companions and Eschewing Innovations

Part Two: The Evidences Against Nevin Reda's Argument

Part Three: Scholarly Consensus

Part Five: Conclusion - Contrast and Compare