Another pandemic facing the Muslim ummah today is the case of du’āt who stray outside of their lanes and enter into matters they were never from its people to begin with. The Shayṭān has deceived them into believing that their popularity on social media platforms is an ijāzah to discuss matters in every nook and cranny of the dīn.
A recent case many have asked about is whether it is better for women to stay at home rather than observe their prayers in the masājid. This was raised based on a dā’ī rebutting a fatwā issued by an organization claiming that their attendance in the masjid is better. While this organization may have agendas behind their fatāwā and the intention of the dāˋī was to expose them, this in no way changes a ruling based on the acceptability or rejection of narrations that need to be scrutinized first before delving into rulings.
As for the issue at hand, Shaykh Haytham (حفظه الله) has a detailed investigation of the narrations, the conclusion of which is that there is not a single authentic marfū’ narration from the Prophet (ﷺ) that indicates the prayer of women in their homes is better than their prayers in the masājid. Any marfū’ narration that indicates this is defective. Rather, there are no less than eleven confirmed narrations that are either general or inclusive of women praying in the masājid – including the virtues of the prayers there.
This is not to suggest that people of knowledge never held an opposite view; but for a ruling to be sound – despite the intentions of people or their calibre – the narrations must be examined carefully first. The examination of narrations (or even weighing the opinions of scholars) is not something every dā’ī is qualified to do. Wal-Lāh-ul-musta’ān.
For anyone interested in the in-depth investigation by Shaykh Haytham, the PDF of the book is attached below (Arabic only).
We seek refuge in Allāh (ﷻ) from arrogance and pride, and from the need to remain relevant in the eyes of the people.
Abu Ubadah
March 29, 2021/16 Sha’bān 1442
The book may also be downloaded from the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/20210329_20210329_0204
Sunnah Studies 
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