Q. Is it appropriate for women to attend Friday prayer in the mosque, if it is convenient for them to do so? You mentioned that it is permissible to do the pilgrimage and the Umrah on behalf of a deceased person. What is the basis of this ruling?
Athiba
A. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable that women should attend Friday prayers, although it is not obligatory for them. Muslim women have been attending Friday prayers in all Muslim countries since the Prophet’s time. They attend Friday prayer every week in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, as well as in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Wherever it is convenient, they may attend if they wish. God has been kind to us, taking into account the duties women have to perform and the fact that they often need to look after young children. Therefore, He has not made Friday and congregational prayers obligatory to women. But He has not barred them from them. Hence, they may attend whenever they please. The Prophet says: “Do not prevent female servants of God from attending God’s mosques.”
The basis that makes the pilgrimage and the Umrah valid when done on behalf of someone else, whether dead or alive, is taken from a number of Hadiths in which the Prophet confirmed to his questioners that they could do so. A woman asked him whether she could do the pilgrimage on behalf of her father who was so old that he could not sit up on the back of a camel. He told her to offer the pilgrimage on her father’s behalf. When the Prophet was traveling for his pilgrimage and many Muslims joined him, he overheard one of his companions declare that he was doing the pilgrimage on behalf of a man called Shibrimah.
The Prophet asked him who Shibrimah was and the man answered: “He is a brother of mine.” The Prophet asked him whether he had done the pilgrimage already. When the man answered in the negative, the Prophet told him to do it on his own behalf first before he did it on behalf of his brother.
In addition to this, there are other conditions that should be fulfilled. Therefore, it is not acceptable to offer the pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of someone who can do them himself. They are certainly permissible to offer on behalf of a deceased person.
Indeed, scholars say that if a person dies without having done the obligatory pilgrimage and he or she could afford to do it, an amount of their estate is allocated to pay someone to do the pilgrimage on his or her behalf before dividing the estate among the heirs.
Working Abroad
Q. After getting married in his home country, an expatriate came back to his work, but he feels depressed. The point is that he feels that he is defeating the very purpose of marriage by staying away from his wife. He contemplates resigning, but if he does, it may not be easy for him to find a suitable job at home. What should he do?
Musharraf Ahmad
A. The proper thing for a married couple is to stay together. If this proves difficult, then they should agree together what is best for their future. Thus, if this person is able to get his wife to join him at his place of work, he should do so. If not, then he should consider his other options.
What he should be clear about is that if his separation from his wife is prolonged, with year after year going on and he is only able to see her during his vacations, then this is not a healthy situation. He should consider going back home, even though working there may not enable him to lead the sort of comfortable life he finds now. But he should make his choices on the basis of what he is certain of. This means that he should not resign and go back immediately. He should try to secure a job at home first. If he does and can manage to support his family on his wages there, then he is better advised to go back, because keeping his family together is a great advantage which outweighs the benefit of higher income here.
