Daily Times

From the reminiscence of early ages, it sounds as ancient and a radical act as Emmeline Pankhurst, who chained herself to the British parliament’s fence for women’s right to vote, however, for others, a Muslim congregational prayer led by a woman, desecrates the principles of Sharia surfaced since the advent of Islam.

First reported back in 2005 When Amina Wadud, an American Muslim professor of religion and philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University dared to deliver the Friday sermon to Muslims and later led the mixed congregational prayer, her unprecedented move made her first woman Imam, thus earning her ignominy and a worldwide condemnation from the religious clerics on breaching almost a 1500 year old fundamental on women’s place in the Masjid.

This wasn’t until, that she later continues to lead mixed prayer in 2008 in Oxford, despite prompting protests. Following her footsteps, Jamida Bevi has become a first ever woman in India to deliver a sermon and eventually leading a mixed gender Friday ritualistic prayer, not in a mosque, but in the Quran Sunnat office, where she works full time in southern Indian state Kerala, on 26 Jan 2018; provoking a backlash from Islamic clergies and Muslim organizations threatening to kill her.

Jamita belongs to a small sect of Quran Sunnat, who only believes on the interpretation of the Quran, not Hadiths — the second most fundamental source of Islamic laws after the Holy Scripture and an act of Hadith’s disapproval may conclude a Muslim’s allegiance towards the Islam.

The act of defiance by both the ladies, almost a decade apart, presenting their self-interpretation of holy scriptures show that Quran believes in gender equality.

The Islamic world to date, have been guided under the tyrannical patriarchal rule, which now has to come to an end. However, Indian Muslim women are not new in reforming the fundamental practices of Islam, which they find discriminatory, this being the second after the Indian Supreme Court gave  the verdict in 2017 to strike down the illegitimate practice of Tripple Divorce — where a Muslim man instantly divorce his wife, after uttering ‘Talaq’ thrice in succession.

Islam is the only religion to elevate women’s status in misogynist Arab culture and warranted their right of equality with men

A new controversy on women’s right to lead a prayer has been instigated amongst Muslim with divided opinions of religious fundamentalist to those advocating religious freedom, to voice women activists in demand for the equal rights of Muslim woman around the world as guaranteed by Islam.

Those holding the opinion of women leading same sex and mixed congregation, are present in the vast minority in the world; arguing with the pretext in the light of the Qur’an and unverified Hadith, thus conceiving the prohibition as a result of chauvinism in the medieval environment, not as a part of Prophet’s (PBUH) Islam, but in subtle areas, such as  concerning women rights and interest requires not alone adherence to Quranic text — when silent, then following Hadiths to  principles established by the prominent schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

Two of the four schools — Shafi’is and Hanbalis — permits women leading same sex prayer, though a disliked act by Hanafis and forbidden by Malakis the only exception out of four, whereas other Muslim sects have the consensus that a woman isn’t barred to lead a congregational prayer, but under a strict condition of consisting the sole presence of women only.

Nevertheless, some of the aforementioned schools make exceptions for optional Ramadan prayers (Taraweih) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Amongst few medieval scholars, such as Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) considers it as religiously legitimate act for optional prayers (Navafil), despite their ruling has been refuted by the majority of present sects.

With regard to leading mixed congregational prayer, Hanafi school forbids women except in the optional prayers of Taraweih in Ramadan only if they are well-conversant in the Quran, but they have to stand in their prescribed place in the women’s row behind the men, rather than in front. The Hanafi jurists, further reiterate the fact  of relaxing the provision only in case of an old woman, when in the presence of men having no knowledge of Quran, however, they proscribe leading Friday and Eid because these are an obligatory prayer, which is not ordained upon women.

No doubt, since the Prophet’s (PBUH) time this religious norm has been in the practice of Muslims all over the world. The Sharia rule to forbid this specific act of leading prayer is not because of the firm conviction of spiritual deficiency amongst women, but a division of work. The holy scripture reiterates that both men and women are equal in the sight of Allah and both the genders must be equally respected and honoured.

Islam, the only religion to elevate women’s status in misogynist Arab culture and warranted their right of equality with men, has never limited or restricted  to educate, preach and guide either of the genders.

Men and women are supporters of each other. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, as Quranic interpretation (Al-Tawbah 9:71).

At present, there are countless women who are extensively qualified as jurists and competent to hold religious offices to dispense Islamic rulings and holding large public gatherings to teach Qur’an and Hadith around the world.

Moreover, a new trend to reform the old practices is on the rise, where Islamic institutions, Muslim community centres and masjids in the USA have included scholarly and enlightened Muslim women who are engaged in the official board matters of Masajid and have entirely indulged themselves in the administrative matters relating to these institutions; breaking stereotypes and serving a lasting model for the coming generations.

Furthermore, an extraordinary Islamic practice in People’s Republic of China is a women-only nüsi masjid. The peculiar feature of trained women imam and the women congregates and prohibiting men to step into the mosque’s premises is that it challenges the male supremacy in this field. In past years, efforts have been made to introduce homogeneous masjids in Iran and India too.

The writer is a freelance contributor. He can be reached at mohsin_2050@live.com

Published in Daily Times, March 14^th 2018.