Woman to lead UK Muslim prayers
A woman is to lead a congregation of men and women in an Islamic prayer service for the first time in the UK.
Muslim scholar Professor Amina Wadud is to give the sermon - or khutbah - at the start of a conference on Islam and feminism at Wolfson College in Oxford.
The move is controversial as the tradition is that imams - always men - hold mixed services. Some believe it is against Islam for a woman to do so.
But organisers heralded it as a "leap forward" for "theological destiny".
Chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre Oxford (MECO) Dr Taj Hargey, who is organising Friday's conference, argued that the prayer service would be a step in the right direction.
"We believe Islam is a gender-equal religion," he said.
"There is a record that the Prophet Mohammed allowed a woman to lead a mixed-gender congregation, but this precedent has been ignored.
"Women have led prayers in South Africa, Canada and the US and this is a first time here - it is a celebration."
But Mokhtar Badri, vice-president of the Muslim Association of Britain, is opposed to the sermon.
"With all respect to sister Amina, prayer is something we perform in accordance to the teachings of our Lord," he said.
"It has nothing to do with position of women in society. It is not to degrade them or because we don't think they are up to it.
"This is something divine not human. We have to do it in the way it has been ordained by God to do it.
"Women can lead prayers before other women but for this very specific point, in this situation before a congregation of men and women, a man must lead."
Protest planned
He added: "I also don't think this is a subject confined to Islam. Even in Christianity Catholics still don't accept female priests."
When Ms Wadud led a service in New York City three years ago, it had to be held in an Anglican church after mosques refused to host the event.
There are also expected to be objections to Friday's sermon at the Oxford Centre in Banbury Road, with opponents understood to be planning protests.
But Dr Hargey is undeterred.
"People thought it was a bad idea to give women the vote," he said.
"When Emmeline Pankhurst chained herself to the railings in protest there was uproar, but things move on.
"This is about theological self-empowerment - women as well as men have the right to determine their own theological destiny."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 673845.stm
Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
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malaika
Re: Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
Women must be leaders in faith
A woman led Muslim prayers in Oxford last week. Her actions and those of others like her, across faiths, deserve our support
So far, it seems only Muslim women from abroad dare lead men in Friday prayers in the UK. A Canadian, Raheel Raza, became the second Muslim woman to do so at the Muslim Educational Centre in Oxford last week. An African-American convert, Amina Wadud, was the first Muslim woman to lead mixed prayers at the same centre in 2008. It's not surprising that British Muslim women are not brave enough to follow their footsteps – both have been demonised after leading men in prayers in their own countries.
Why is the idea of female imams so controversial amongst many Muslims? When Amina Wadud shocked the world in 2005 by leading mixed-gender Friday prayers in New York, I must admit even I felt uncomfortable. I had been brought up to believe only men could be imams, something I never questioned until recently.
An honest study of Islamic texts reveals that women are not forbidden to lead men in prayer – the Qur'an does not even address this issue. In fact the conditions required are Islamic knowledge, skill and piety – none of which are gender related. However, (mostly male) scholars maintain there is consensus on the impermissibility of women leading men in prayer despite lack of evidence to back up their position. In many quarters, this issue is not even open to debate, despite the fact that centuries ago it was discussed without controversy and a diversity of opinions was respected. According to female scholar Halima Krausen, a number of male scholars, such as Abu Thawr al-Kalbi, Abu Isma'il al-Muzani, al-Isfahani, at-Tabari and Ibn Taymiyya, had nothing against women leading mixed prayers. One woman, Umm Waraqa, is known to have led men in prayers in her household during the time of Prophet Muhammad.
Male clergy often cite questionable hadiths or take them out of context to criticise women such as Wadud. One argument often marshalled is that women's bodily movements arousing desires in men. Are men really so weak that they can't keep their eyes off a fully covered woman's posterior during prayer? I believe men have invented arguments about their sexual excitement – it is only their ego that prevents them from praying behind a woman.
Despite these powerful arguments supporting the permissibility of women leading mixed congregation prayers, I doubt the practice will become widespread in the near future as religious institutions are controlled by men. And most Muslim women are more concerned about fighting for equality on basic grounds such as education and economic empowerment. I don't think leading prayers is a battle that many are yet ready to fight, even if they believe in it. But Wadud and Raza are paving the way for more female imams to come forward to lead other women in prayer. Last year Hawaria Fattah became the first female imam in Europe after being recruited to a mosque in Belgium. This is a pioneering appointment even though she only works with Muslim women.
Restricting women's role in religious structures and practices is not exclusive to Islam. Historically all the world's major religions have done this. The first female rabbi was Regina Jonas, who was only ordained privately in 1935 in Berlin. The next ordination came in the US, in 1972, when Sally Priesand was made a rabbi in the Reform tradition. Since then, all branches of Judaism, except Orthodoxy, have found a way to ordain women.
Female priests may have been ordained in various branches of Christianity. However, its largest denomination, Roman Catholicism, has consistently refused to allow women into the priesthood. Those ordained unofficially are often excommunicated. This status quo continues to be challenged – last week a group marched to St Peter's Square demanding a debate on this issue. Opening the doors to the priesthood would mean women could ascend to the papacy – and perhaps the possibility of a future female pope is too much for the Catholic church.
Women are suffering the consequences of oppressive misinterpretations of religious texts in all faiths. It's time more of us questioned their legitimacy. No topic should be out of bounds for discussion, including the question of female religious leaders. The act of attempting to break down the last barriers to female participation sends an unequivocal message about equality.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... im-prayers
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raya
Re: Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
Als ich den Beitrag gestern las, dachte ich nur wie cool ist das denn 
Es war ja auch klar, dass sich zB Mullahs aus den islamischen Ländern darüber aufregen würden...
Vielleicht ist es provozierend, aber es ist auch provozierend, dass solche Männer, ihre Frauen verhüllen und in die Häuser stecken und selbst sich an andere junge Frauen ran machen. Als wäre das der ursprüngliche Islam...
Ich find es toll!!! Man sollte öfters mal die Frauen nach vorne bitten!
Es war ja auch klar, dass sich zB Mullahs aus den islamischen Ländern darüber aufregen würden...
Vielleicht ist es provozierend, aber es ist auch provozierend, dass solche Männer, ihre Frauen verhüllen und in die Häuser stecken und selbst sich an andere junge Frauen ran machen. Als wäre das der ursprüngliche Islam...
Ich find es toll!!! Man sollte öfters mal die Frauen nach vorne bitten!
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malaika
Re: Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
In March, the Progressive Muslim Union announced that Amina Wadud Muhsin would lead the yum'a prayers on Friday 18th of March in New York, delivering the khutba and leading the collective prayer.
The announcement was impressive. Some see it as an awakening of the ummah, a revolutionary issue. For others, it is an infamous innovation. Amina Wadud is accustomed to disqualifications. She is woman, a “nigger”, a muslima and a North American. Her knowledge of racism and human discrimination is due to multiple factors.
The reaction of the official communities of New York has been negative. The prayer was summoned at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery. A bomb threat forced to cancel the act. Finally, the yum'a took place on the foreseen day, in a room provided by the Anglican Church. More than a hundred people attended the prayer, men and women, which took place among strict security measures.
The act has caused an authentic shock wave, and has been disclosed thoroughly in the Islamic world. Some see it as an awakening of the ummah, a return to the equalitarian way of Islam. For others, it is an infamous innovation. Among the differing voices, that of the imam of the mosque of the University of al-Azhar, Sheij Sayed Tantawi, the Great Mufti of Saudi Arabia, as well as the Imams of Mekkah and Medina, and other “religious authorities” of Morocco, Pakistan and Jordania.
After this simple introduction, we should begin by answering the question: is a woman able to lead men and women in prayer? For some, the question is simply offensive. We are acostumed to this kind of question, and answer patiently with the Qur'an at heart, and the example of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as a merciful guide:
1. There is no ayat of Qur’an or hadiz that states that a woman cannot lead men and women in prayer, or that denies their right to deliver the khutba.
2. The Qur'an affirms women's capacity to direct a community, in the political and spiritual realms, even to the degree of prophecy.
3. The conditions required to deliver the khutba are: knowledge of the Qur'an and of the Sunna and teachings of Islam, and the person's interior condition (their imam or trust in God). None of these are gender related.
4. There is a hadiz where it is said that the prophet Muhámmad (saws) chose a woman to direct the collective prayers of his community.
This should be enough to close any debate. We should treat the prayer of the 18th as a historical event, as a recovery of genuine Islam, and a break from the macho Islam which has nothing to do with the Prophet's teachings, peace and blessings be upon him. An event that encourages us to discern between genuine Islam and historic or cultural influences, and to recover Islam as a message of universal liberation.
This is enough for us, but the reaction among some scholars and institutions has been very agressive. On March 17th, a fatwa on the subject was issued by Yusuf Qaradawi and published in Islamonline:
Throughout Muslim history it is unheard of that a woman has ever led the Friday Prayer or delivered the khutba... It is established that leadership in Prayer in Islam is for men only... Prayer in Islam is an act that involves different movements of the body... Hence, it does not befit a woman, whose physique naturally arouses instincts in men, to lead them in Prayer and stand in front of them, as this might divert their attention and concentration, and disturb the required spiritual atmosphere.
At the end of his fatwa, Qaradawi talks about “innovation”, and makes this statement:
My advice to the sister referred to in the question [Amina Wadud] is that she should revert to her Lord and religion and extinguish this unnecessary strife. I also advise my Muslim brothers and sisters in the United States not to answer this stirring call and to stand as one before the trials and conspiracies woven around them.
In their fatwa, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America has been more severe:
There is unanimous consensus for the entire Ummah, in the east and west, that women cannot lead the Friday Prayer nor can they deliver the sermon. If anyone does takes part in such a Prayer, then his Prayer is nullified. It has never been found in any jurisprudential text of Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi`is or Hanbalis, nor even from Shiite scholars, that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer or deliver the sermon. This opinion [that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer] is an innovation and a heresy on any account, nullified by all scholars... and anyone who calls for it or helps implement it is a heretic.
The arguments for this prohibition are the following:
1. A woman's body is provocative, and it could distract the men during their prayer.
2. The prophet allowed women to direct the salat only before other women or relatives, and only in a private environment.
3. It’s an innovation, something unknown in the history of the Islam.
4. A consensus exists among scholars that denies women's imamate before men.
On the first point, I only can show my bewilderment. Opinions of this sort offer us a poor impression of Muslim men, unable to concentrate before a dressed and veiled woman. Since Qaradawi has never carried out the salat behind a woman, I can only refer him to my own experience, that salat is for Al-lâh, behind a woman or behind a man.
The limit imposed on the imamate of women is based on a very peculiar reading of the following hadiz:
It is testified of Umm Waraqah —who had learned the Koran by heart—that the Prophet —peace and the blessings be upon him— used to visit her; he ordered she to act as imam for people of the house (ahlu Dariha), and she had a mu’adhin, and she accustomed to act as imam for the people of the house.
Qaradawi dedicates most of his fatwa to commentaries on this hadiz. The reason: since no text of the Qur'an or of the Sunna exists that forbids the imamate of women, he tries to carry out a restrictive reading. According to Qaradawi, this hadiz limits the feminine imamate to their own home, and only in case that she were the most versed in the Qur'an.
This opinion is based on a limited reading of the Arab term dar. This word means house in a metaphoric sense, like in the expressions to dar al-Islam, or Darfur, the earth of the Fur. The necessity of a mu’adhin shows that the call to the prayer goes beyond the domestic environment. Also, other hadith show us that among the people of her house there were also men, including the mu’adhin. For this reason, I think that the restrictions are not in the hadiz but in the mind of the reader. Another posible interpretation could be: Umm Waraqah bint Abdullah, a woman of the Ansar, was designated by the Prophet —peace and the blessings be upon him— as imam of the Mosque of her area, located in Medina's proximities, where men and women used to pray.
This is the interpretation provided by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah, writer of a Sira and transaltor of the Qur’án in french:
It is stated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed her leader or imam of a mosque in her locality and that men prayed behind her. The mu'adhdhin, who calls the faithful to prayer, was a man. It is obvious that he too prayed behind the Imam. This account occurs in the Sunan of Abu Da'ud and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
(The emergence of Islam. Published by Adam Publishers & Distributors Shandar Market, Delhi, India)
About the “scholars unanimous consensus throughout history”, we have to say that a honest study doesn't allow for this statement. Among the outstanding scholars that have defended the woman's imamate, it is necessary to mention Abu Thawr (died in 240 of the Hijra), of the school of Imam Shafi'i. Also Abu Dawud (died 270 H), founder of the Zahirí school. And Tabari (dead the 310 H), Qur’anic commentator and creator of a school of jurisprudence. ibn Rushd affirms in his Bidayat al-Muÿtahid that Abu Thawr and ibn Tabari are an exception among the scholars, since “they allow the women to lead men in prayer without restrictions” (Vol.1, pg.354). According to an article published for Emmanuel-Yamin Dubuc in http://www.oumma.com, at least three schools have defended the possibility that women can lead men in prayer.
Some of the defenders of the so called “consensus of scholars” don't ignore these cases. They simply argue that the consensus was established with posteriority, and therefore cannot include Abu Thawr neither Tabari. Here we must ask: when does this consensus take place, and who does it include? Our perplexity increases as we discover that there are many opposing definitions of what “consensus among the scholars” really means: there is no consensus on what a consensus implies.
It is surprising that even among the hanbalis, women's imamate is acceptable, at least in certain cases. Qaradawi mentions az-Zarkashei:
In accordance with Imam Ahmad and most of his followers, it is permissible that women may direct men in the tarawih prayers.
Our confusion continues: how is possible that permission is granted in these cases and prohibited in others?
How is this recognition of the feminine imamate included in a fatwa that begins saying that “it is established that the leadership in prayer should be for men”, in a fatwa that claims that women cannot be positioned before men in prayer because they might excite them? Is a woman's body less provocative for men in tarawih prayers than in other regular prayers?
We can also mention the words of ibn Taymiyah (died 728 H):
“A learned woman leading unlettered men in the night prayers of Ramadan is permissible in the well known statement of Ahmed, and as for all other superagatory prayers, then there are two narrations." [Radd al-Maratibul-Ijma, Ibn Taymiyyah, pg. 290, ed. Dar ibn Hazm].
ibn Taymiyah refers to the narrations contained in the Musnad of ibn Hanbal, where it is affirmed that women can also direct the salat of the men in nafl prayers (not obligatory). It is necessary to point out that some specialists deny that ibn Taymiyah wrote this. However, also in the recopilation of his fatawa he refers to the permisivity that women lead the prayer, when she is well versed in the Qur'án (Majoo al-Fatawa, Vol. 23, Pg. 248).
The so called “Sheikh of the hanbalíes”, ibn Qudamah, states that a discussion existed among traditional scholars on women's imamate, not only in the tarawih and nafl prayers, but also in general prayers. ibn Qudamah talked against those who defended the women's imamate without restrictions (Al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah, Vol.3, pág.33, ed. Dar al-Hijr), so in his time there was still a discussion on this matter. He died in 720 Hijra.
In conclusion, the “scholars consensus” against the woman's imamate is nonexistent, and there is no hadiz or ayat of the Qur'an that forbids a woman from leading the Friday prayers.
In the issue of the imamate of women, all opinions are respectable. If some muslims consider that it is licit for a woman to deliver the khutba and lead the friday prayer, they are in their right to do so. The contradictions among scholars are not necesarily bad. We have to consider them as an expresión of the variety and vitality of Islam, and never as a fitna.
In spite of their weak arguments, it is licit that Qaradawi (or any other Muslim) intervenes in this controversy by giving his opinion, interpreting the Sunna and giving his advice. If Qaradawi considers this kind of prayer illicit, there should be no problem: he is not obliged to attend them. What is incomprehensible is that he reprimands Amina Wadud and other muslim women, advising them that they “should revert to her Lord and religion”, as if she is no longer a Muslim or has strayed fom the path. As for the statement issued by the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America, we need say no more.
In the end, the same 18 of March, Secretary General of Islamic Comission of Spain, Mansur Escudero, support the prayer, and the Mufti Sheikh Ali Gum'a, Egypt's main Islamic authority, declared that woman-led prayer during mixed-gender congregations is permissible, so long as the congregation agrees to it. We agree.
Wa al-lâhu aalam
http://www.studying-islam.org/articletext.aspx?id=955
The announcement was impressive. Some see it as an awakening of the ummah, a revolutionary issue. For others, it is an infamous innovation. Amina Wadud is accustomed to disqualifications. She is woman, a “nigger”, a muslima and a North American. Her knowledge of racism and human discrimination is due to multiple factors.
The reaction of the official communities of New York has been negative. The prayer was summoned at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery. A bomb threat forced to cancel the act. Finally, the yum'a took place on the foreseen day, in a room provided by the Anglican Church. More than a hundred people attended the prayer, men and women, which took place among strict security measures.
The act has caused an authentic shock wave, and has been disclosed thoroughly in the Islamic world. Some see it as an awakening of the ummah, a return to the equalitarian way of Islam. For others, it is an infamous innovation. Among the differing voices, that of the imam of the mosque of the University of al-Azhar, Sheij Sayed Tantawi, the Great Mufti of Saudi Arabia, as well as the Imams of Mekkah and Medina, and other “religious authorities” of Morocco, Pakistan and Jordania.
After this simple introduction, we should begin by answering the question: is a woman able to lead men and women in prayer? For some, the question is simply offensive. We are acostumed to this kind of question, and answer patiently with the Qur'an at heart, and the example of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as a merciful guide:
1. There is no ayat of Qur’an or hadiz that states that a woman cannot lead men and women in prayer, or that denies their right to deliver the khutba.
2. The Qur'an affirms women's capacity to direct a community, in the political and spiritual realms, even to the degree of prophecy.
3. The conditions required to deliver the khutba are: knowledge of the Qur'an and of the Sunna and teachings of Islam, and the person's interior condition (their imam or trust in God). None of these are gender related.
4. There is a hadiz where it is said that the prophet Muhámmad (saws) chose a woman to direct the collective prayers of his community.
This should be enough to close any debate. We should treat the prayer of the 18th as a historical event, as a recovery of genuine Islam, and a break from the macho Islam which has nothing to do with the Prophet's teachings, peace and blessings be upon him. An event that encourages us to discern between genuine Islam and historic or cultural influences, and to recover Islam as a message of universal liberation.
This is enough for us, but the reaction among some scholars and institutions has been very agressive. On March 17th, a fatwa on the subject was issued by Yusuf Qaradawi and published in Islamonline:
Throughout Muslim history it is unheard of that a woman has ever led the Friday Prayer or delivered the khutba... It is established that leadership in Prayer in Islam is for men only... Prayer in Islam is an act that involves different movements of the body... Hence, it does not befit a woman, whose physique naturally arouses instincts in men, to lead them in Prayer and stand in front of them, as this might divert their attention and concentration, and disturb the required spiritual atmosphere.
At the end of his fatwa, Qaradawi talks about “innovation”, and makes this statement:
My advice to the sister referred to in the question [Amina Wadud] is that she should revert to her Lord and religion and extinguish this unnecessary strife. I also advise my Muslim brothers and sisters in the United States not to answer this stirring call and to stand as one before the trials and conspiracies woven around them.
In their fatwa, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America has been more severe:
There is unanimous consensus for the entire Ummah, in the east and west, that women cannot lead the Friday Prayer nor can they deliver the sermon. If anyone does takes part in such a Prayer, then his Prayer is nullified. It has never been found in any jurisprudential text of Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi`is or Hanbalis, nor even from Shiite scholars, that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer or deliver the sermon. This opinion [that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer] is an innovation and a heresy on any account, nullified by all scholars... and anyone who calls for it or helps implement it is a heretic.
The arguments for this prohibition are the following:
1. A woman's body is provocative, and it could distract the men during their prayer.
2. The prophet allowed women to direct the salat only before other women or relatives, and only in a private environment.
3. It’s an innovation, something unknown in the history of the Islam.
4. A consensus exists among scholars that denies women's imamate before men.
On the first point, I only can show my bewilderment. Opinions of this sort offer us a poor impression of Muslim men, unable to concentrate before a dressed and veiled woman. Since Qaradawi has never carried out the salat behind a woman, I can only refer him to my own experience, that salat is for Al-lâh, behind a woman or behind a man.
The limit imposed on the imamate of women is based on a very peculiar reading of the following hadiz:
It is testified of Umm Waraqah —who had learned the Koran by heart—that the Prophet —peace and the blessings be upon him— used to visit her; he ordered she to act as imam for people of the house (ahlu Dariha), and she had a mu’adhin, and she accustomed to act as imam for the people of the house.
Qaradawi dedicates most of his fatwa to commentaries on this hadiz. The reason: since no text of the Qur'an or of the Sunna exists that forbids the imamate of women, he tries to carry out a restrictive reading. According to Qaradawi, this hadiz limits the feminine imamate to their own home, and only in case that she were the most versed in the Qur'an.
This opinion is based on a limited reading of the Arab term dar. This word means house in a metaphoric sense, like in the expressions to dar al-Islam, or Darfur, the earth of the Fur. The necessity of a mu’adhin shows that the call to the prayer goes beyond the domestic environment. Also, other hadith show us that among the people of her house there were also men, including the mu’adhin. For this reason, I think that the restrictions are not in the hadiz but in the mind of the reader. Another posible interpretation could be: Umm Waraqah bint Abdullah, a woman of the Ansar, was designated by the Prophet —peace and the blessings be upon him— as imam of the Mosque of her area, located in Medina's proximities, where men and women used to pray.
This is the interpretation provided by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah, writer of a Sira and transaltor of the Qur’án in french:
It is stated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed her leader or imam of a mosque in her locality and that men prayed behind her. The mu'adhdhin, who calls the faithful to prayer, was a man. It is obvious that he too prayed behind the Imam. This account occurs in the Sunan of Abu Da'ud and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
(The emergence of Islam. Published by Adam Publishers & Distributors Shandar Market, Delhi, India)
About the “scholars unanimous consensus throughout history”, we have to say that a honest study doesn't allow for this statement. Among the outstanding scholars that have defended the woman's imamate, it is necessary to mention Abu Thawr (died in 240 of the Hijra), of the school of Imam Shafi'i. Also Abu Dawud (died 270 H), founder of the Zahirí school. And Tabari (dead the 310 H), Qur’anic commentator and creator of a school of jurisprudence. ibn Rushd affirms in his Bidayat al-Muÿtahid that Abu Thawr and ibn Tabari are an exception among the scholars, since “they allow the women to lead men in prayer without restrictions” (Vol.1, pg.354). According to an article published for Emmanuel-Yamin Dubuc in http://www.oumma.com, at least three schools have defended the possibility that women can lead men in prayer.
Some of the defenders of the so called “consensus of scholars” don't ignore these cases. They simply argue that the consensus was established with posteriority, and therefore cannot include Abu Thawr neither Tabari. Here we must ask: when does this consensus take place, and who does it include? Our perplexity increases as we discover that there are many opposing definitions of what “consensus among the scholars” really means: there is no consensus on what a consensus implies.
It is surprising that even among the hanbalis, women's imamate is acceptable, at least in certain cases. Qaradawi mentions az-Zarkashei:
In accordance with Imam Ahmad and most of his followers, it is permissible that women may direct men in the tarawih prayers.
Our confusion continues: how is possible that permission is granted in these cases and prohibited in others?
How is this recognition of the feminine imamate included in a fatwa that begins saying that “it is established that the leadership in prayer should be for men”, in a fatwa that claims that women cannot be positioned before men in prayer because they might excite them? Is a woman's body less provocative for men in tarawih prayers than in other regular prayers?
We can also mention the words of ibn Taymiyah (died 728 H):
“A learned woman leading unlettered men in the night prayers of Ramadan is permissible in the well known statement of Ahmed, and as for all other superagatory prayers, then there are two narrations." [Radd al-Maratibul-Ijma, Ibn Taymiyyah, pg. 290, ed. Dar ibn Hazm].
ibn Taymiyah refers to the narrations contained in the Musnad of ibn Hanbal, where it is affirmed that women can also direct the salat of the men in nafl prayers (not obligatory). It is necessary to point out that some specialists deny that ibn Taymiyah wrote this. However, also in the recopilation of his fatawa he refers to the permisivity that women lead the prayer, when she is well versed in the Qur'án (Majoo al-Fatawa, Vol. 23, Pg. 248).
The so called “Sheikh of the hanbalíes”, ibn Qudamah, states that a discussion existed among traditional scholars on women's imamate, not only in the tarawih and nafl prayers, but also in general prayers. ibn Qudamah talked against those who defended the women's imamate without restrictions (Al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah, Vol.3, pág.33, ed. Dar al-Hijr), so in his time there was still a discussion on this matter. He died in 720 Hijra.
In conclusion, the “scholars consensus” against the woman's imamate is nonexistent, and there is no hadiz or ayat of the Qur'an that forbids a woman from leading the Friday prayers.
In the issue of the imamate of women, all opinions are respectable. If some muslims consider that it is licit for a woman to deliver the khutba and lead the friday prayer, they are in their right to do so. The contradictions among scholars are not necesarily bad. We have to consider them as an expresión of the variety and vitality of Islam, and never as a fitna.
In spite of their weak arguments, it is licit that Qaradawi (or any other Muslim) intervenes in this controversy by giving his opinion, interpreting the Sunna and giving his advice. If Qaradawi considers this kind of prayer illicit, there should be no problem: he is not obliged to attend them. What is incomprehensible is that he reprimands Amina Wadud and other muslim women, advising them that they “should revert to her Lord and religion”, as if she is no longer a Muslim or has strayed fom the path. As for the statement issued by the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America, we need say no more.
In the end, the same 18 of March, Secretary General of Islamic Comission of Spain, Mansur Escudero, support the prayer, and the Mufti Sheikh Ali Gum'a, Egypt's main Islamic authority, declared that woman-led prayer during mixed-gender congregations is permissible, so long as the congregation agrees to it. We agree.
Wa al-lâhu aalam
http://www.studying-islam.org/articletext.aspx?id=955
Re: Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
Guter Artikel, finde ich. Der Blog des Autors (Abdennur Prado) ist auch sehr interessant.
Wa Alaykum Assalam أمل
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malaika
Re: Frau ist Vorbeterin beim Gebet
Ja, ich fand ihn auch gut. Zwar finden sich darin jetzt keine Erkenntnisse, die hier noch nicht genannt wurden, aber ich finde es gut, wie er die üblichen Argumente und Fatwas mit Systematik, Logik und Infos, die sonst oft unter den Tisch gekehrt werden, auseinandernimmt.nouar hat geschrieben:Guter Artikel, finde ich. Der Blog des Autors (Abdennur Prado) ist auch sehr interessant.
Den Blog muss ich mir mal anschauen …