CAN A WOMAN ACT AS IMAM OR DELIVER JUMU'A SERMON(KHUTBAH)

[bamalli]

Question: I'd like to know whether a woman is permitted to act as an imam or to deliver Jum`ah Khutbah (Friday sermon). Jazakum Allah khayran.  



Name of Mufti       Group of Muftis  



Answer:       Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.



In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.



All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.



Dear sister in Islam, it gives us pleasure to receive your question and to see the Muslim youth are interested in knowing the teachings of Islam, which Allah has chosen for His servants as a way of life. According to the Qur'an, a true Muslim should refer to scholars to become well-acquainted with the sound image of Islam.



First of all, it should be clear that the Qur'an and the Prophet's Sunnah bear witness to the fact that woman is at least as vital to life as man himself, and that she is not inferior to him. When the Shari`ah restricts some positions to men, it does not mean discrimination, but this should be understood within the frame of the general objectives of the Shari`ah, which are set by the Law-giver (Almighty Allah) to order the lives of men and women in a way that best suits their natures.



Explaining the Shari`ah-based rulings regarding whether a woman can act as an imam or not, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:



According to the general consensus of jurists and scholars of Hadith, a woman is not allowed to lead men in a mosque or congregation. She is, however, allowed to lead a congregation consisting only of women. In the latter case, it is not only permitted for women to do so, rather it may even be considered highly recommended because of the greater rewards of praying in congregation (jama'ah) as compared to praying individually. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never said that such rewards are solely applicable to men and that women are excluded. The authentic practice of the Mothers of the Faithful, such as `A'ishah and Umm Salmah (may Allah be pleased with them), also confirms this conclusion. Both of the esteemed wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who were highly regarded for their deep grasp of religion, used to lead women in Prayer.



Although the vast majority of scholars are of the opinion that a woman may not lead men at all, there is a minority of them – including scholars such as Imam Ibn Jarir, the celebrated commentator of the Qur'an, as well as jurists such as Abu Thawr and Al-Muzani – who consider it permissible for a woman to lead members of her own household in Prayer.



The last mentioned group of scholars have based their ruling on the following report of Abu Dawud on the authority of Umm Waraqah: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit her in her own home; he appointed a mu'adhin (one who calls the adhan for Prayer) for her, and ordered her to lead the members of her household (in Prayer)." Umm Waraqah—as stated in the sources—was an esteemed woman of Al-Ansar who had memorized the Qur'an. `Abdul-Rahman Ibn Khalid, the narrator of the Hadith, further states: "I happened to see her mu'adhin, who was a person advanced in age."



Based on the above evidence, some scholars have concluded that a woman is allowed to lead her own family members in Prayer especially in the following cases:



- If she is exceptionally qualified and others are not so well versed in the rules of Prayer and knowledge of the Qur'an;



- If her husband is a new Muslim who is struggling to learn the rules of Prayer and the Qur'an, while she herself is perfectly well versed in them;



- If she is a mother of minors who are still learning the rules of Prayer and the Qur'an.



In exceptional cases such as the above, the Hadith of Umm Waraqah is undoubtedly a great source of relief.



As for the second point in your question, we'd like to say that there is nothing wrong, as far as Islam is concerned, for a woman to lecture in a mixed assembly in universities or mosques, or elsewhere. However, she has to adhere to her Muslim identity. In other words, she should pay attention to her dress and decorum in public. She should not soften her voice in a way that raises curiosity in those who possess ill manners. Allah Almighty says: O ye wives of the Prophet! Ye are not like any other women. If ye keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft of speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease aspire (to you), but utter customary speech. (Al-Ahzab 33: 32)



But women are not allowed to deliver jum`ah khutbah (Friday sermon), which is part of an act of worship. The eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh `Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef states:



Sister, you should know that a woman is not permitted to deliver jum`ah khutbah nor to lead men in Prayer. jum`ah Prayer, in principle, is not an obligation upon women.



If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write back!



May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.



Allah Almighty knows best.