WOMEN IN THE MOSQUE – PART 1

WOMEN IN THE MOSQUE – PART 1
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Abstract: This article deals with the issue of women’s full or partial access to the mosque from 610-925. This period is divided into two timeframes. The first, 610-34, consists mainly of the time in which the Prophet was active in Makkah and Madinah. The second, 634-925, is the period beginning with `Umar’s reign to the time when the Hadith literature was written down and set into the well-known compilations. Two types of evidence are examined for both periods: material and textual records. Material records consist of the layout of the various mosques, where the existence or absence of dividing walls or separate entrances could be important clues. Textual records consist mainly of the Qur’an and Hadith literature.

The Qur’an is used as a primary source for the first period, whereas the Hadith literature is used as a primary source for the second period. The Hadith is used to distinguish trends and directions in the Muslim community after the demise of the Prophet, rather than as a source of information on the Prophet himself. This avoids problems of authenticity, while not denying that much of the Hadith may well be authentic. From the primary sources available for the first period, there does not appear to be any evidence of segregation; rather the evidence indicates that women had full access to the mosque. In the second period, three trends appear: a pro-segregation trend, an anti-segregation trend, and a trend that sought to prohibit women from going to the mosque altogether.

INTRODUCTION:
The early mosque was not only a place for prayer, but also a center for many other activities as well. It functioned as the school where people learned their religion, and the Parliament where the community discussed new laws and affairs of state. It was also the courthouse where judgments were passed, and the community center where families met their friends and neighbors and held their celebrations. In short, it was the hub and center of public life for the emerging Muslim nation.

For women, the mosque meant access to almost every aspect of public life. Debarring or limiting their access means restricting their participation in public life. Gender segregation, as seen in most mosques today, is such a limitation, for it limits women’s full access. This both hampers their participation and can even shut them out completely. Segregation can be implemented either through a screen or a wall, or by distance, as happens when placing women behind men during the congregational prayers. This paper will provide a historical analysis of women’s physical access to mosques.

In my historical overview, I deal with the period from the beginning of Muhammad’s career as a prophet in 610 until about 925, when many of the first textual sources were recorded. I then divide this period into two subperiods. The first subperiod consists mainly of the time during which the Prophet was active in both Makkah and Madinah (610-32) and when the Qur’an, the foundation of the Islamic faith, was revealed. During this time, religion was in the hands of one person, who was regarded by his followers as the ultimate religious authority. This can be viewed as a theocratic period, for the people believed that God was guiding them through the Prophet. It is also characterized as a prophetic or “ideal” period.

The reign of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (632-34) will be regarded as more or less a continuation of that time, since it was too short and he was too faithful to the Prophet’s example to allow any changes in women’s situation. The first major changes in the placement of women in the mosque took place during `Umar ibn al-Khattab’s reign (634-44), which initiated the second subperiod. By this time, most of the primary textual sources used in this study had been recorded. This was also a time of conquest, when Islam spread into new lands and Muslims interacted with many other peoples. Religion was now in the hands of a scholarly elite that had emerged over the years. In addition, this was a formative period for Islam, when many of its religious laws and doctrines were formulated. This time can be characterized as an “interactive” period, for many debates took place within the Muslim community. Using primary and some secondary sources relating to these subperiods, I will evaluate and contrast women’s access to the mosque.

WOMEN IN THE PROPHETIC PERIOD:
During the first period (610-34), The most important material record for the Makkan period is Makkah’s al-Haram al-Sharif, the first mosque in which Muslims prayed. This sanctuary, which has its origins in the pre-Islamic period, continued and flourished after the advent of Islam. Al-Haram al-Sharif features the ancient house. This is a simple apsidal structure consisting of an almost square-shaped room with an apse13 attached to it, known as hijr Isma`il. Both Hagar and Isma`il are reportedly buried there. The structure is located in a courtyard, in which prayers and other rituals are conducted. In the Makkan and Madinan periods, houses surrounded the courtyard and no barriers separated the men from the women. Even the sacred space was not enclosed by a wall.

The Qur’an is our main textual source for this period. However, it is more useful for the Madinan than for the Makkan period, since Makkan chapters (suwar) have little to say about women in the sanctuary. During the Prophet’s early activity in Makkah, conditions were more or less a continuation of jahili practices. Jawad `Ali, who deals with Makkah’s pre-Islamic religious practices, informs us that women made tawaf (ritual circumambulations around the Ka`bah), sacrificed their animals to one of the deities, and that Qurashi women performed sa`y (running between the two hills of Safa and Marwah). Pre-Islamic rituals, however, could not be performed in clothes in which the pilgrim had sinned. The sole exception was for members of the Quraysh. If a pilgrim could not borrow clothes from a Qurashi, then he or she performed the rituals without clothes. This is why women preferred to perform their rituals at night. A verse of poetry that some of them recited was: “Today, some of it or all of it appears; what appears of it, I do not consider permissible.”

For Muhammad, this sanctuary remained the principal mosque. Every Muslim, whether male or female, is required to perform this pilgrimage at least once if they can meet the relevant conditions. However, for most of the Prophet’s sojourn in Madinah, Makkah was at war with Madinah. Therefore, the Muslims did not have access to that sanctuary. When relations were reestablished between the two cities, Muslims began to perform the pilgrimage. Some of the pre-Islamic rituals continued (e.g., tawaf and sa`y), and others were changed (e.g., the idols were removed and all pilgrims had to wear ihram clothes).19 Women’s access to every part of the mosque continued unchanged from jahili times. Even today, women pilgrims have complete access to the mosque and can pray wherever and whenever they like.

The Prophet, after migrating to Madinah, built a second mosque there. This structure, which also functioned as his home, was a simple nearly square enclosure of approximately 56 x 53 meters with a single entrance. The qiblah side had a double range of palm-trunk columns thatched with palm leaves. Needy Companions had a lean-to toward the southeast, and Muhammad’s wives had rooms along the western perimeter. The prayers were conducted in the vast empty courtyard. Significantly, there appear to have been no walls or other barriers separating men and women, or any other known material evidence of gender segregation during the Madinan period.

The Qur’an also provides interesting evidence for women’s access to the mosque during this period. A close examination shows two kinds of verses that contain relevant information. The first kind consists of general verses that deal more or less with all Muslims. They are usually in the male plural, which, in Arabic, can include women. On the other hand, the female plural does not include men. The second kind are gender-specific and specify women, either by the female plural or by referring to a specific person (e.g., Mary). I will first examine the general verses and then the specific verses.

7:29 - All Muslims are asked to pray in every mosque and to take their adornments: Say: “My Lord has commanded justice and that you look toward (Him) at every mosque

7:31 - O children of Adam! Take your adornments to every mosque

Several verses talk negatively of those who prevent believers from mosques and warn them of severe punishments (e.g., 2:114, 8:34, 22:25, and 48:25):

2:114 - Who is more unjust than one who prevents [believers] from celebrating God’s name in his mosques and strives to ruin them? It is not fitting that such should enter them, except in fear. Disgrace will be theirs in this world and an exceeding torment in the world to come.

The above verses indicate the right and obligation of every Muslim to participate in the mosque’s activities. The context suggests that this applies to “the believers,” regardless of gender. The participation of women is not stated explicitly in the above verses. However, it is clearer in the gender-specific verses, to which I now turn.

Two verses specify women’s relationship to group prayers. The first is as follows:

9:71 - The male believers and the female believers are each others’ allies. They enjoin good and forbid evil, establish prayers and pay the alms, and obey God and his Messenger. Upon these God will have mercy. God is
Almighty, All-Wise

The word awliya’, which I have translated as “allies,” signifies a close working relationship. It can also be translated as “friends, protectors, neighbors, or followers.” It comes from the root waliya, which means to be near or adjacent to somebody or something. The same term is used to describe the relationship between the Muhajirun (Makkan immigrants) and the Ansar (Madinan helpers) (8:72) and between God and His “close ones” (10:62). The above verse signifies a togetherness
in prayers as well as in enjoining good, forbidding evil, giving alms, and obeying God and his Prophet. These activities clearly have a public aspect to their fulfillment and are mandated for both men and women.

The second gender-specific verse is addressed to Mary, as follows:

3:43 - O Mary! Humble yourself before your Lord, prostrate yourself, and
bow down with those who bow down.

The term used for “with those who bow down” is ma`a al-raki`in.Raki`in is the masculine plural form. It may or may not include women, but it must include men. The feminine plural would have been raki`at, which is not used in this context. So, Mary is ordered to pray with a group that includes men. Also interesting is the preposition ma`a, which means “with,” not “behind,” “away from,” or “segregated from” in any way.

Mary is also presented as praying in the mihrab. In later Islamic times, the mihrab came to mean a recess in a mosque indicating the prayer direction. However, this is not the Qur’anic meaning, since the mihrab is connected there only with ancient Israelites: Mary, David, Solomon, and Zachariah (3:37, 39; 19:11; 38:21-22; and 34:13). In place of the mosque’s mihrab, Solomon’s temple had the Holy of Holies, which housed the ark of the covenant. In non-Israelite temples, the Holy of Holies often contained the image of a deity.

Mary’s presence in what could possibly have been the Holy of Holies may have significant implications for female access to mosques. This is the inner sanctum to which only a select few, mainly highly placed priests or persons, had access. In other words, Mary would have been on a par with such figures as David, Solomon, and Zachariah. This warrants a closer investigation of how the Qur’an portrays Mary’s position in the temple, since Islam considers it a major mosque. As I will show below, Mary not only had a privileged position with full access to the mosque, but is depicted as not being segregated from men.

According to the Qur’an, Mary’s connection with the temple began before her birth. Her mother is portrayed as saying:

3:35 - My Lord, I have consecrated by vow (nadhartu) to you what is inside my womb as a freed person (muharraran).

The Arabic nadhara is equivalent to the Hebrew nadhar, which appears only in the qal form in the Old Testament and means “to make a vow.” N-z-r, a related root that appears only in the nifal form, means to dedicate oneself to a deity or to live as a nazirite. One such nazir/nazirite was Prophet Samuel, whose mother (Hannah) made a promise that resembles the one made by Mary’s mother. Hannah promised to give her as-yet-unconceived son as a nazirite (1 Samuel 1:11). He grew up ministering to the Lord in His temple at Shiloh (1 Samuel 2:18). In other cases, persons vowed to the temple were sold, and their price varied according to age and gender (Leviticus 27:2-8). The Qur’anic muharrar seems to mean a freed person. This implies that Mary’s mother was promising her unborn child would be a nazirite, part of the temple’s personnel, but would not be sold into slavery. The same root, n-z-r, is also used in Hebrew for consecrating or ordaining priests.

Not a great deal is known about the ancient Israelite nazirites. Some seem to have been connected with the temple, as in the case of Samuel. The Old Testament also portrays him as a prophet who received revelation from the Lord (1 Samuel 3:1-21).

If Mary was a nazirite like Samuel, she probably would have had access to the Holy of Holies. Samuel used to minister to the Lord in His temple at Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was housed (1 Samuel 2:18). Solomon’s temple had not yet been built. After its construction in Jerusalem, the ark was moved to the Holy of Holies there.

Other than temples, the only known monumental architecture from ancient Israel is palaces. A palace would not fit the description as well as the temple, since Zachariah was not a king. Furthermore, it is unlikely that he would pray in a palace sanctum, even if one were known to exist, and then habitually leave it to address the people. It is also unlikely that his people would be gathered in a room near the palace sanctum, waiting for the priest to address them. Thus, the ancient Israelite Holy of Holies appears to fit the Qur’anic mihrab best.

The Qur’an calls the Solomonic temple, which contains the Holy of Holies, al-Masjid al-Aqsa (17:1, 7). The four schools of Sunni jurisprudence, along with the Shi`i Ja`fari school, consider al-Masjid al-Aqsa to be the third holiest site after the Makkan and Madinan harams. Many Muslims make pilgrimage to it during politically safe times. That a woman is depicted as being present in its innermost sanctum means that she had full access to that masjid. She is also presented as not being segregated from men, since Zachariah entered the mihrab when she was there and talked with her (3:37). Thus, we can see that Mary’s example is a significant aspect of understanding the Qur’an’s position on women’s access to sacred space.

The other two high-ranking mosques are the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah and the Makkan sanctuary. In the Prophet’s mosque, his daughter Fatimah is thought to be buried next to him.28 If this is indeed the case, then it can be viewed as a material record of full, unbarred female access to this mosque. However, this tradition is disputed, and al-Baqi` seems to be a more generally accepted burial place for her. Nevertheless, this tradition does indicate that the thought of a woman being buried there was acceptable.

According to Islamic tradition, Hagar was buried with her son Isma`il inside the Ka`bah, specifically in the apse, which is considered part of the sanctuary. This tradition also can be regarded as indicating full unbarred female access to that masjid’s innermost sanctum. Although this account dates back to pre-Islamic times, it was maintained and transmitted in the two periods under investigation until it was formally documented in the `Abbasid era.

From the evidence, we can conclude that the material and textual records appear to support full female access to the major mosques during the Makkan and Madinan periods. Importantly, at the two earliest and most important Muslim shrines, there were no barriers separating women from men and no separate entrances. There also appears to be an indication that the thought of women being buried together with men in the inner sanctum was acceptable. The Qur’an testifies to the legitimacy of women’s using the mihrab and interacting with men in al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the third major Muslim shrine. Both general and gender-specific Qur’anic verses indicate that women had full access to the mosque and that praying next to men was considered normal and legitimate. Therefore, in the material as well as the textual sources dating to Islam’s “ideal” period, there appears to be no indication of gender apartheid; rather, evidence points to the conclusion that women had full access to the mosque.

TO BE CONTINUED...

by:
Nevin Reda (El-Tahry) is Assistant Professor of Muslim Studies at Emmanuel College, Tronoto, Canada