Sanatan Prabhat > Post Type > News > National News > Muslim Personal Law Board tells Supreme Court: “Women are not barred from mosques, but offering namaz at home is better !”

Muslim Personal Law Board tells Supreme Court: “Women are not barred from mosques, but offering namaz at home is better !”

New Delhi – The All India Muslim Personal Law Board informed the Supreme Court that there is consensus across all Islamic sects that women are not prohibited from entering mosques. However, there is also agreement that it is not obligatory for women to participate in congregational prayers at mosques.

The Board further stated that Prophet Muhammad himself had instructed that women should not be prevented from going to mosques. Despite this, it maintained that offering namaz at home is better for women. It added that women receive the same spiritual benefits by offering namaz at home as men do by praying in mosques.

The submission was made before a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing petitions related to the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple. Petitions seeking permission for women to enter mosques have been tagged along with the Sabarimala-related cases. Constitutional principles concerning Articles 25 and 26 are applicable in both matters. Advocate M R Shamshad presented the Board’s arguments.

Responding to the petitions, Shamshad stated that mosques do not have the concept of a sanctum sanctorum, unlike dargahs where such a concept exists. Since mosques lack a sanctum, no individual insists on standing at a particular designated spot.

Editorial Perspective

Is this not effectively an undeclared restriction ? While there is no visible ban, women are being encouraged to stay at home under the pretext of preference. Why is it that Muslim women are rarely seen offering namaz in mosques ? And why do so-called progressives, women’s organisations, and feminists never question this ?

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