Can Both Genders Pray Together under Certain Circumstances?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I just watched a documentary about a small group of Native Americans in Mexico who are Muslims. They do not have a local mosque and pray together in a small space, with both genders mixed.
Is it allowed to pray mixed if the woman is completely covered, standing behind the men, and there is no other possibility in terms of space? I know both genders pray together in Makka, so I would like to know if it is allowed in certain circumstances.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
It is permissible for men and women to pray together when the women are performing the prayer in their rows and space that is separate from the men or in a room that is separate from the men and fulfills the religious guidelines then this is permissible.
However, Islam encourages unrelated women and men not freely mix unnecessarily. For this reason, it is superior for a woman to pray at home and not in the mosque congregation with the men. [Ibn ‘Abidin , Radd al-Muhtar]
Read the link below for further understanding.
Related:
Why is it that males and females cannot pray together in Islam?
Can Men and Women Pray Together?
Prayer Reader: The Ultimate Guide To Prayer in Islam
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
