Sahih al-Bukhari, 869
sahihNarrated `Aisha:
Had Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) known what the women were doing, he would have forbidden them from going to the mosque as the women of Bani Israel had been forbidden. Yahya bin Sa`id (a sub-narrator) asked `Amra (another sub-narrator), "Were the women of Bani Israel forbidden?" She replied "Yes."
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ لَوْ أَدْرَكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا أَحْدَثَ النِّسَاءُ لَمَنَعَهُنَّ كَمَا مُنِعَتْ نِسَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. قُلْتُ لِعَمْرَةَ أَوَ مُنِعْنَ قَالَتْ نَعَمْ.
Isnad
5 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 10, Hadith 260
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 1, Book 12, Hadith 828 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Islam has permitted women to go out and attend Jumu‘ah prayer and prayers in congregation in the mosques, on condition that no fitnah (temptation) or mischief be caused by their going out. In this hadith, the Mother of the Believers ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that if the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had seen how the situation of women changed and how they began to beautify themselves and wear perfume when going out to the mosque, or how little they cared about what is required of modesty, decency and the like, he would have forbidden them to go out, so as to ward off fitnah and mischief, just as the women of the Children of Israel were forbidden to go out to pray. It may be that their law did not allow them to go out, or it may be that they were forbidden after having been permitted, or something else may be the case. The one who asks in the hadith “Were they prevented?”is Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari. He asked ‘Amrah bint ‘Abd al-Rahman, who narrated the hadith from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), whether the women of the Children of Israel were forbidden to go out. There are rulings which apply specifically to women when attending prayers in the mosques, how they should go out, and what they should look like, interms of modesty, adornment, covering, and avoiding dubious situations.Any acts of worship which must be done in accordance with Islamic guidelines. This does not mean that a woman should not be very clean and pure when going out of her house in general terms, but she should not have any fragrance or anything in her appearance that could attract the attention of men. This hadith indicates that anything that may lead to impropriety is forbidden, and precautions must be taken against such things..