And speak in a customary manner HaditbeenfromanyonebesidesAllahth eywouldhavefoundmanydiscrepancie sinit.VerilyhaveWerevealedtheRemin derandverilyshallWepreserveit.Don’t SHOULD MUSLIM theyconsidertheQur’anwithcare?Hadi WOMEN SPEAK? tbeenfromanyoneotherthanAllahthey wouldhavefoundmanydiscrepanciesi nit.VerilyAW coemhpreahvenesivree invtreodauclteiond tto hthee Remind Islamic textual evidence against the erandverilyWeshallpreserveit.Don’tt prohibition of Muslim women speaking in public heyconsidertheQur’anwithcare?Hadit beenfromanyoneot herthanAllahthey wouldhavefoundma nydiscrepanciesi nit.VerilyhaveWerevealedtheRemind Da’wah Institute of Nigeria Islamic Education Trust erandverilyWeshal lpreserveit.Don’tt heyco nsidertheQur’anwithcare?Hadit beenfromanyoneotherthanAllahthey wouldhavefoundmanydiscrepanciesi nit.VerilyhaveWerevealeditandverily Weshallpreserveit.Don’ttheyconsider SHOULD MUSLIM WOMEN SPEAK? A comprehensive introduction to the Islamic textual evidence against the prohibition of Muslim women speaking in public (Module 101 of the Train-the-Trainers course in Islam and Dialogue) Da’wah Institute of Nigeria Islamic Education Trust 2 ©Islamic Education Trust, 1429/2008 ISBN 978-2159-55-7 All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner except with written permission from the publisher. Da‟wah Institute of Nigeria Islamic Education Trust Headquarters PMB 229, Ilmi Avenue, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Phone: +234-803-600-5535 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ietonline.org 3 CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgements Notes on Terminology and Transliteration Preface “Should the voice of a woman be heard by men outside her family? Some scholars have said that her voice is part of her „awrah” Part I: Arguments for the voice being „awrah 1. The Hadith: “Men should say „subhānallah‟ while women should clap” 2. Women perform their salāt silently. 3. Women do not call the adhān. 4. The Saying: “A woman is „awrah”. 5. The Hadith: “the voice of a woman is „awrah”. 6. The Qur‟anic verse: “stay quietly in your houses”. 7. The Qur‟anic verse: “do not speak in a soft or seductive way”. 8. The avoidance of fitnah (corruption and mischief) in society. Part II: Arguments against the voice being „awrah 1. A woman‟s voice in congregational salat 2. Women speaking in places of worship 3. Women making the adhan (call for prayer) 4 4. Woman‟s voice in salat, and when leading other women 5. Women reciting Qur‟an aloud 6. The Saying: “the voice of a woman is „awrah” 7. The Hadith: “A woman is „awrah” 8. Women spoke to the Prophet () 9. Women spoke to non-mahram Companions 10. Saying “salam” to and by women 11. Hadith narrated orally by women 12. Women singing 13. Women giving oral testimony Conclusion Bibliography Recommended Websites Other Publications of the Da‟wah Institute of Nigeria (DIN) 5 FOREWORD TO THE SERIES Islam is considered by many observers to be the fastest growing religion in the world, yet it is the most misunderstood of the world‟s major faiths. Some misconceptions about Islam stem from calculated propaganda against Islam, but a good amount of it is attributable to the ignorance of many Muslims whose limited knowledge and practice of Islam perpetuates these misconceptions. Due to the deficiencies of the common, restricted way of teaching Islam to children, many Muslims grow up believing that Islam requires only blind faith and invites no intellectual challenges. Often such Muslims manage with minimal knowledge of their faith until they interact with larger circles of people, in higher institutions or the work place, where they are confronted with many misconceptions about Islam, and face questions they cannot answer. It is in response to the need for empowering Muslims to know their religion, and to share its beautiful message with the rest of humanity, that this work was begun. This effort is part of a wider project of intellectual empowerment of the global Muslim world. Among the programs designed by the Islamic Education Trust over the past decade and a half is the Train the Trainers Course (TTC) in Islam and Dialogue. As its name indicates, the course is designed to train da‟wah volunteers in clarifying misconceptions about Islam, handling differences of opinion among Muslim scholars, and extending personal leadership training to others. The contents of this series of books evolved from teaching manuals from the TTC. It is hoped that this publication will serve as intellectual resource material for Muslims of different backgrounds. 6 Justice Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, OFR National President Islamic Education Trust November 2008/Dhul-Qa‟dah, 1429 AH 7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All praise and gratitude is due to Allah Who has made this work possible. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be in His last messenger, Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet () said: “Whoever does not show gratitude to people does not show gratitude to Allah”. It is therefore with great pleasure that the Da‟wah Institute of Nigeria (DIN) takes this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to all the brothers and sisters from all over the world, who have in various ways contributed to the development of the Train the Trainers Course in Islam and Dialogue (TTC) and its study material of which this book is a part. The material has evolved into its present form over a long period before and after the TTC became an organized course in 1994. The contributions to the course and its material have come in many ways, through numerous channels, both formally and informally, and from all over the world. They have come from contributors of various backgrounds, age-groups, organizations, and specializations. It has unfortunately become practically impossible to cite all who deserve mention - but Allah has counted them all, and we continue to pray Allah to bless them with the best in this life and the next. We will however mention at least the countries where the major contributors have come from, and may Allah forgive us for any omissions. Contributions to the development of the course have come from Australia, Bahrain, Burundi, Cameroun, Egypt, the Gambia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Niger, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, U.K., U.S.A., and most importantly, Nigeria. 8 In Nigeria, we would like to acknowledge the following organizations for their key support in the development of the TTC material. They include the Da‟wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN), the Federation of Muslim Women‟s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), the Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA), the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), the Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria (MCAN), and the Nasirul Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT). Others include numerous University departments, Colleges of Education, Colleges of Arts and Islamic Legal Studies, etc. We wish to acknowledge those who, to the best of our knowledge, had the greatest input to the TTC 101 Series. The chief editor of the material was Asiya Rodrigo, who also located most of the references and citations in this work. Others who greatly assisted in important capacities such as structure, content, clarity, style and preparation of the materials for printing include Justice Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, B. Aisha Lemu, Abdullahi Orire, Isa Friday Okonkwo, Muhammad Dukuly, Salatu Sule, Bashir Mundi, Nuruddeen Lemu, and Aliyu Badeggi. Finally, and on behalf of all the research team and staff of the Da‟wah Institute of Nigeria (DIN), I would like to pray for the Trustees and minds behind the Islamic Education Trust (IET), and the DIN in particular, Justice Sheikh Ahmed Lemu and B. Aisha Lemu, whose wisdom, support, encouragement and leadership have helped bring the DIN to where it is today alhamdulillah and jazākum Allahu khair. As only the Qur‟an is perfect, this material will by Allah‟s leave continue to evolve through revisions and improvements with better contributions from people like you, the reader, inshā Allah. May the reward for whatever benefit comes from this material go to those who have in any way contributed to it. The Da'wah Institute of Nigeria (DIN) takes full responsibility for any 9 imperfection in this work, and we pray that such will be forgiven by Allah and you the reader. Alhaji Ibrahim Yahya Director Da‟wah Institute of Nigeria January, 2009 Muharram, 1430 A.H. 10