494. Are the women undergoing their monthly menstrual period prohibited to enter masjids.
Masjids are revered places of worship. The Quran and Prophet Muhammad have set out certain norms that need to be followed once inside. We are required not to behave in the same way once inside the masjids as we do in other places.
One of the norms that needs to be maintained is cleanliness, men or women on whom there is a mandatory duty of bathing is imperative should clean themselves before entering masjids.
Women during their period of monthly menstruation are strictly barred from entering the precincts of masjids. But some scholars differ in their opinions regarding the evidence offered and let women undergoing their monthly woes to attend masjids.
And whatever arguments they put forward to substantiate their stand, do not conform to their beliefs. On the contrary their arguments are found to be weak. Let us go through them;
People with the opinion that women undergoing their monthly menstrual cycle are prohibited from entering masjids present as their evidence verse No; (4:43,) of the Quran.
4:43 O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying or in a state of janabah, except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.
In this verse the word masjid is not found, but we have added, ‘do not go to the masjids’ in brackets. The direct translation of this verse is : Oh, You! who are believers, when you are in an intoxicated condition, and till you understand what you speak, and when a bath is mandatory upon you, do not go to the masjid but as a passer by.
This verse says not to approach the masjid except as a by-passer.
It is found to be saying ‘not even to approach the masjid’ leave alone worship in the masjid.
Most of the scholars are of the opinion, the verse says (the unclean and the intoxicated) not to enter the masjids but allows passing by the masjid. We also subscribe to the same view.
But some argue this verse has a different meaning other than what is presented. Anyhow there is got to be only one correct understanding of a verse of the Quran. Now let’s analyze the opinion expressed by those who say there is no bar on women in their periods entering masjids.
Oh! Believers when you are in an intoxicated condition, and unless you understand yourself what you speak, do not approach to worship, and those of you on whom taking bath is a mandatory duty, do not approach for worship without cleaning yourself, except those wayfarers.
The word we have translated as ‘passersby’ is replaced with ‘wayfarers’ by others.
Lexicon allows us to make use of the word ‘wayfarer’ in place of ‘passerby’. If the usage of a word is inappropriate in a particular place though there is a provision to use it, we need to use the appropriate word.
And before using a word that is considered as appropriate, we need to take into account the laws that are derived from the meaning of the word that is used.
The meaning that is considered appropriate by these people for the phrase ‘Upon those who have a mandatory duty of bathing and cleaning oneself, not to enter the places of worship’ leads to a belief that there is a law for one set of people, and another for a different group.
Way farers or travelers are permitted to worship after performing ‘Daya-mm am’ in place of ‘Wudu’ at a time of water scarcity, this is a concession offered to the wayfarers in Islam. The understanding according to these people is, if people do not happen to be wayfarers, it is imperative they take bath and then perform worship and are not supposed to perform worship on dayammam.
In other words, this is said to convey the message that, people other than wayfarers on whom bathing, and cleaning is mandatory before worship cannot perform dayammam to carry on their worship.
In brief this means the law of dayammam is exclusively for wayfarers.
People thus arguing should have enacted a law accordingly, but this did not happen; but when questioned whether a person can worship on performing dayammam, they consent to it.
We find the word wayfarers inappropriate and, hence we consider the usage of the word ‘by passers’ as appropriate, and conclude it refers to the passing by of unclean people through the masjids onto adjacent streets.
It strongly conveys the message that, whomever bathing is mandatory are allowed to pass through the masjids but prohibited from offering any form of worship or entering, or staying, within its premises, at the same time passing through (Masjids) is not considered a crime.
The stance of Islam is, people on whom bathing is mandatory immaterial of them being passersby or residents of the place, they can go ahead with their worship after performing dayammam, in case of non- availability of water, clean themselves necessarily with water on availability to offer worship.
The position of Islam being thus clarified, offering an explanation the law on performing dayammam applies only to wayfarers is misleading. Hence giving a meaning for the Arabic word ‘Abiri Sabil’ as passersby and not wayfarers or travelers is upheld.
Here a question arises about the non-mention of words relating to women in their throes of monthly menstrual periods, but we find the word ‘junoob’ that includes women of this category. The word Jana fat refers to ‘staying away’, ‘unclean’, ‘semen’, and also refers to indulging in sexual acts, ejaculating with sexual intention, monthly periods undergone by women. And it also refers to postpartum mothers.
Book : Mujmu Lugathil Fuka Hayee.
People who support the opinion that women undergoing a monthly menstrual cycle can enter masjids cite the following hadith related to Ayesha (RA).
Ayisha (RA) said:
The messenger of God asked me to handover the prayer mat from the masjid to him, I replied by saying, ‘I am undergoing my monthly periods’ to which the prophet shot back ‘your monthly periods have nothing to do with your hands.
Book: Muslim 502, 503
Abu Huraira (RA) narrates the following:
When the prophet was inside the masjid he called out “ Ayesha bring me that mat,” Ayesha replied by saying “my monthly periods have started”, the prophet retorted “ Your hands do not have anything to do with your monthly periods, then Ayesha took the prayer mat and handed it over to Ayesha.
Book:Muslim 504
People who support the opinion that women can enter masjids present the above-mentioned two hadiths as proof.
In the first hadith it is being mentioned as the prophet wanted Ayesha to hand over the prayer mat to him, from this it can be understood the prayer mat was inside the masjid, and the prophet was also at home in the adjacent room with Ayesha (RA).
Nobody would ask for a thing from a place while remaining in the same. The prayer mat remained inside the masjid and the prophet was also in the same place, and Ayesha (RA) present there was asked by the prophet to hand over the prayer mat from the masjid, Ayesha (RA), either could have entered the masjid to bring the mat or could have just stretched her hand inside the adjacent room apportioned as masjid to fetch the same.
Ayesha (RA) narrates: When Prophet Muhammad remained in the masjid during the period preforming Ithikaf, he used to pass on to my room to the extent leaning on to the door, when I would wash his head remaining inside my room, while the rest of his body was inside the masjid.
Book: Ahmed 24608
From this incident it can be seen, the masjid and the house of the prophet were the same, but demarcated by a partition.
Even otherwise if Ayesha (RA) had entered the masjid to fetch the prayer mat, the act does not go against our stand as per the Quran, that allows unclean women to pass through masjids but prohibits them from staying inside.
The second hadith mentions that Prophet Muhmmad while remaining inside the masjid had asked Ayesha (RA) to handover the prayer mat to him. Even if it is understood as the task was carried out by her, it still is not against our stand and as per the Quran, that can be understood as that carrying an object by an unclean woman to the inside of the masjid is not a taboo is proved by the action of Ayesha (RA).
This does not anyway substantiate the concept that unclean women can stay in masjids. They are allowed only to pass through, and this remains our stand.
We need to ponder over the reason why Prophet Muhammad told Ayesha (RA) that ‘hands have nothing to do with monthly periods of women’. We can surmise Ayesha (RA) could have just stretched her hand to fetch the prayer mat without entering the masjid, was the reason the prophet said hands have nothing to do with monthly menstrual cycles, and this also remains a proof that Ayesha (RA) stretched just her hands without entering the masjid.
Ayesha (RA) could have hesitated to fetch the prayer mat because, may be of the belief, touching a prayer mat could also be a taboo for a woman experiencing monthly periods for whom worshipping of Almighty is prohibited. The prophet would have said the words ‘Hands have nothing to do with monthly periods experienced by women’ for Ayesha to come out of the hesitation.
In some messages Ayesha (RA) it seems, when asked by Prophet Muhammad to hand over the prayer mat, feigned her inability because she was experiencing her monthly throes rendering her unfit for worship. This reply of Ayesha would convey some to believe that handling of prayer mat by women undergoing menses is wrong.
The following message is presented by people to substantiate the view that women experiencing menses, are not prohibited to enter masjids:
Ayesha (RA) narrates:
A dark colored female slave belonging to an Arab family (A long narration) had a small tent made out of wool in the precincts of Masjid-un-Nabavi.
Book: Bukhari 429
In the above message it is found that Prophet Muhammad had ordered a small dwelling be made for a dark colored woman in the precincts of Masjid-un-Nabavi in spite of the knowledge she will experience her monthly menses. People who support the entry of unclean women into Masjids cite this message asking how Prophet Muhammad could allow a dwelling to be made for a woman, knowing very well women experiencing menses are not allowed inside the masjid. Hence, they conclude that women passing through their menses are not prohibited to enter the masjids.
But in the above message we do not find anything that suggests women undergoing menses can enter masjids. There is an issue in the way they seem to have understood the message. The word masjid is used to denote place of worship inclusive of places where worship does not take place. They fail to understand the difference between these places of the masjid.
We present below some hadiths as examples:
We were with Prophet Muhammad when a person came riding a camel, he dismounted and then tied the camel inside the masjid and laid it down to rest.
Book: Bukarii 63
We don’t understand as the camel was tethered and laid to rest inside the place of worship but would be understood as the camel was secured within the precincts of the masjid.
Nobody would present this hadith as proof to tie up a camel inside the masjid where worship takes place.
Abyssinians were playing valor games in the masjid and the Prophet shielded me while I was watching the same.
Book: Bukhari 455, 988
We wouldn’t understand this as Abyssinians exhibiting their prowess in archery, but as the event taking place within the precincts of the masjid.
The Jewish man and the woman who indulged in prostitution were stoned to death at the place in the masjid where coffins with the dead are usually placed for final prayers.
Book: Bukhari 1329, 3332, 4556
We would understand the event as having taken place in an open space within the masjid premises and not in a place in the masjid, where worship takes place and neither we will take this as punishment can be carried out inside the masjid where worship is conducted.
During the trench war a tent was made in masjid-an-Nabawi to accommodate Sa’ad (RA) injured in the war, and help Prophet Muhammad attend him to his wounds while blood was flowing out of the wounds he had received.
Book: Bukhari 463, 4122
Here we understand the moment a particular place belonging to the masjid is allocated to be used as a spot for treatment of the wounded, it ceases to be used as a spot for worshipping.
Prophet Muhammad carried out his worships inside the masjid in a tent made from mats., and people followed him in worship. Once the worship was completed, people waited for the prophet to emerge from the tent, since he did not come out, as a sign to remind him they snorted lightly. The prophet then emerged and told them to leave and continue their non-obligatory worship in their homes.
Book: Bukhari 731, 7290
Prophet Muhammad advised people to carry out their surplus worships at homes, and their obligatory worships in Masjids. Prophet Muhammad was the first person to implement restrictions and laws imposed by Islam, as can be seen when he treated the tent inside the masjid as his own dwelling and carried out his surplus worships within it. From this we come to understand that areas demarcated for uses other than worshipping within the masjid are not bound by laws that apply to places used for worshipping in masjids.
When a tent is made within the precincts of the masjid as a residence for a woman, it becomes her private property, and not everyone is free to enter. But in a masjid everybody’s free to enter at all times. Hence presenting this hadith as evidence to substantiate that menstruating women can stay inside masjids is wrong.
When one says I went to the masjid to urinate, it won’t be understood as the person went to urinate in the place of worship in the masjid. It is understood as he went to the urinals in the masjid to urinate.
They also present the evidence of the prophet’s comrades having stayed in the Masjid-un-Nabavi without having taken the mandatory bath. This is also similar to the above quoted message about a woman staying inside the demarcated area of the masjid.
The comrades of Prophet Muhammad were allowed to use a part of the masjid as a house, and ejaculation in a place not part of the place of worship in the masjid is of no consequence.
Abu Huraira (RA) narrates :
‘The messenger of Allah sent a division of horse men to the Najd area to bring a person by the name of Sumama Bin Usaal of the Banu Haneefa tribe, when he was brought to Masjid-un-Nabawi, he was tied to one of its pillars.
Book: Bukhari 469.
This is yet another similar message to the one quoted above, regarding the various uses of parts of masjid put to different uses, and likewise a provision for tying up prisoners existed, where he was tethered to a pillar.
In hadiths of Bukhari 462, 2422, 4372, it is mentioned that he was tied up to the pillars of the masjid, and the prophet advanced towards him on his arrival shows he was tied up outside the area of worship and not inside the masjid.
The following hadith is also presented as evidence by people who believe otherwise.
Ayesha (RA) narrated :
We set out of Madina with the intention of performing the Hajj, and when we were nearing a place known as Shariff, I started experiencing my periods, and began to cry. At that time the prophet came there and wanted to know the reason for my sobbing. I replied by saying ‘I swear in the name of Allah, I will not be able to perform the Hajj this year’. The prophet asked me whether I started experiencing my monthly periods I replied in the affirmative, to which the prophet said, ‘this is a condition that Allah has made it a fate on the women descendants of Adam, and he asked me to perform all that was required by people on Hajj, except circumambulating the Kaaba until you are clean enough.
Book:Bukhari 305
A section of people cite this hadith and argue, since Prophet Muhmmad has allowed Ayesha (RA) to perform Hajj without the Tawaf, women experiencing their menses can very well stay inside masjids. This contention of theirs is completely wrong.
Prophet Muhammad permitted Ayesh (RA) to carry on with performing all the other acts other than tawaf needed to perform the Haj. While this being clearly made known, it does not augur well for questions like can worshipping and fasting at Kaaba by unclean women be carried out.
Since there are numerous other proofs that prohibit unclean women from either worshipping or fasting, it can be understood these two acts do not fall into the category of other acts mentioned here.
Likewise, the words ‘do all other acts other than Tawaf’ by Prophet Muhammad does not necessarily include entrance of unclean persons because there is already a prohibition on them from entering the masjid as already pointed out in this verse. And since Prophet Muhammad has said these words with regard to performance of Haj, it cannot be considered to fit into all other aspects of Islamic jurisdictions.
In matters other than Haj, women experiencing their menses are free to act as per their general necessities, this is on basic common requirements for an ordinary woman.
There is permission for the husband to hug his wife without entering into a sexual intercourse and also to lie in her lap. But these acts are prohibited between a husband and wife when they are on Hajj pilgrimage. Hence it needs to be understood that these words of the prophet relate only to activities during Hajj, where only Tawaf is barred by women passing through their menses, and not to all activities pertaining to their normal everyday life. And the prophet’s words cannot be taken as a sanction permitting everything at all times
Hence staying in Kaaba by an unclean woman is not permitted because of the various evidence that is available.
The following hadith is also presented by those who support the view that unclean woman can remain in the Kaaba:
Abu Huraira (RA) narrates :
‘I was standing in one of the streets of Madina without having cleaned myself with the mandatory bath I was required to, at that time,
Prophet Muhammad wished to meet me, and I avoided him because of being unclean and slipped out to take a bath at home and returned to the spot, when the prophet asked me where I had been all the while. I said I needed to go in for a mandatory bath without which I hated to be in your company. To that Prophet Muhammad said, Subanallah (Allah is the cleanest) A Muslim does no turn out to be unclean because he faulted on his cleanliness.
Book :Bukhari 283
Since this hadith conveys the message that no Muslim becomes unclean because he faulted on his cleanliness, these people argue that there is no harm in unclean people and women during their periods entering masjids.
Verse 5:6 of the Quran states, on whom mandatory bath is a duty to clean themselves, this does not necessarily translate that unclean people can worship without cleaning themselves, just because it is said by the prophet that a believer can never turn out to be an unclean person.
Islam has prohibited unclean people from performing worship, entering masjids, circumambulating the Kaaba etc. By holding on to the words ‘A believer cannot turn out to be unclean’ no one can argue that doing all these acts is allowed, neither can they.
There is no direct evidence to prove that women during their menses can enter masjids, hence it can be concluded that unclean women are barred from entering masjids, and if there is a dire necessity to pass through its precincts, they can do it and exit at the earliest
