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In Sunan Ibn Mjah, the hadth comes to us with the following chain of transmission:
Ab al-Khattb al-Bahr from Mahdj al-Dhahl from Jasrah bint Dajjah from Umm Salamah
instead of `Aishah. This is a mistake. The attribution here should be to `Aishah. Both Ab alKhattb and Mahdj are unknown narrators.
Al-Bukhr says about Mahdj al-Dhahl: He is questionable.
Ibn Hazm says about him: His narrations are of no ranking. He relates confused narrations
from Jasrah.
As for Ab al-Khattb al-Bahr, al-Bukhr says about him: He is an unknown narrator.
Al-Dhahab says: He is a mediocre narrator (who cannot be relied upon on his own). Ibn
Hajar declared him weak.
What has preceded concerns the narrators of the hadth itself, it has been declared weak by
al-Khattb in Ma`lim al-Sunan, Ibn al-Qayyim in Tahdhb al-Sunan, al-Nawaw in alMajm`, and Ibn Hazm in al-Muhall, where he describes it as false and rejected.
Al-Albn, in Irw al-Ghall, concurs with Ibn Hazms assessment.
In the Qurn, Allah says: O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when you are
drunken until you know that which you utter, nor when in a state of major ritual impurity, save
for those traversing a path, until you have bathed. [Srah al-Nis: 43]
This verse states directly that if a person male or female who is in a state of major ritual
impurity (janbah), is on a journey somewhere and has to pass through the mosque, then the
person may do so if necessary.
Ibn `Abbs had said: It is not permissible for anyone to approach prayer and by implication,
the mosque while he is in a state of major ritual impurity without taking a bath except for a
traveler who can make tayammum. This is the view held by Ab Hanfah, al-Shfi`, Ibn
Rhawayh, and al-Nawaw. It s also one of the views narrated from Ahmad.
However, if a person in a state of major ritual impurity needs only to enter the mosque, he
must simply make tayammum. The majority of scholars assert that it is permitted for a person
in a state of major ritual impurity to enter the mosque if he has a need to do so. They cite as
evidence the hadth narrated by Ab Hurayrah when he explained to the Prophet (peace be
upon him) his reason for avoiding him, saying: I was impure. I had fallen into a state of major
ritual impurity. To this the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: A Muslim does not become
impure. [Sahh al-Bukhr and Sahh Muslim]
Ibn al-Mundhir comments on this, saying: This is what we assert. He criticized Ab Hurayrah
for avoiding the mosque and the general gathering on account of his being in a state of major
ritual impurity and explained to him that a Muslim does not become impure.
It is well-known that a polytheist can enter any mosque except for the Haram in Mecca. Allahs
says: Indeed the polytheists are impure, so they shall not approach the Haram mosque after
this year of theirs.
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Al-Bukhr gives a chapter of his Sahh the following title: Unbelievers Entering the Mosque.
In this chapter, he cites the hadth where the Prophet (peace be upon him) confined
Thummah b. Athl in the mosque.
It is impossible for anyone to overlook the fact that the polytheists would enter the mosque in
order to accept Islam or to hear the Message from the Prophet (peace be upon him) or to
argue or for some need, as was the case with the Christian delegation from Najrn. They
spent a good number of days camped out in a corner of the mosque. Also, the Christian
Ethiopians engaged in spear play in the mosque in the presence of the Prophet (peace be
upon him) and his Companions.
If the presence of a non-Muslim is allowed in the mosque, people whose state of impurity is
not alleviated by a ritual bath or by any manner of purification, then how can it not be allowed
for a Muslim who has not yet bathed from his state of major ritual impurity or for a Muslim
woman who is menstruating, so that they can listen to the sermons, attend lessons, and hear
the Qurn being read?
If it is the case that a person in a state of major ritual impurity and similarly a menstruating
woman can pass through the mosque out of need, because of sleep, or to seek shade or
rest, then that persons entering the mosque to seek Islamic knowledge is even more
appropriate.
A person in a state of major ritual impurity differs in certain rulings from a woman in her
menstrual cycle. For one thing, a person in a state of major ritual impurity cannot read the
Qurn. By contrast, the strongest view regarding a menstruating woman is that she can read
the Qurn on sight or recite it from memorization. This is the official ruling issued by the
permanent Committee for fatwa and Research in Saudi Arabia under the chairmanship of
Sheikh Ibn Bz. As for the hadth prohibiting a menstruating woman from reading the Qurn,
it is unauthentic. Ibn Hajar discusses all the chains of transmission for this hadth in al-Talkhis
al-Habr and determines them to be weak. Ibn al-Qayyim does likewise in I`lm alMuwaqqi`n.
Another point of difference is that a person in a state of major ritual impurity can fast while in
that state, while a menstruating woman cannot fast.
Finally, a person in a state of major ritual impurity can bathe and dispel that state at will. This
is not the case for a menstruating woman. She has no control over when her menstruation
begins and the period of her menstrual cycle can be protracted.
On the basis of what we have discussed, it is not right to prohibit menstruating women from
entering the mosque to hear sermons and to attend lectures and classes and thereby
receiving benefit. To prevent women from doing so means that they will be likely to forget
what they have memorized of the Qurn. They will be prevented from seeking Islamic
knowledge. Many talented women will be frustrated, disheartened and lose enthusiasm.
If a person who is in a state of major ritual impurity can enter the mosque out of necessity,
then a menstruating woman has even more right to be able to do so. The legal axiom is that:
a need takes the legal status of a necessity when it is not fulfilled. If we do not regard a
womans seeking Islamic knowledge in the mosque to be a singular obligation upon her, then
we must at least view it as a necessity in order to keep alive the message of the mosque for
all Muslims. It is, at the very least, a legitimate need that takes the ruling same ruling as a
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