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Women in Mosque: Any Special Dress Code?

Dr. Jasser Auda
21 June, 2019

Are women obliged to wear certain uniform other than the regular Hijab when performing prayers or visiting mosque?

In fact, there is no evidence in the Prophet’s Sunnah to indicate any difference between women’s normal Islamic dress code and what they should wear during prayers or when going to mosques.

 

Hijab On, No Perfume

– Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

May Allah have mercy on the early immigrant women. When the verse {…they should draw their veils over their bosoms} (An-Nur 31) was revealed, they tore their outer garments and made veils from them.

She also said: The believing women used to attend the Fajr prayer with Allah’s Apostle covered with their veiling sheets, and after finishing the prayer they would return to their homes.

The only restriction emphasized in this context is the prohibition of wearing noticeable perfume when going to mosque.

 

Women in Mosque: Any Special Dress Code? - About Islam

Women and Mosque: The Difficult Questions (In-Depth)

– Zainab, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, reported:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: When any one of you comes to mosque, she should not apply perfume.

 

– Abu Hurayrah also narrated that the Prophet said:

“Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from visiting Allah’s mosques; when they come to mosque, they should be free of fragrance“

 

– It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah also that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Any woman who has been perfumed with incense should not attend the `Isha’ [prayer] with us.”

 

– One Day Abu Hurayrah passed by a woman whose perfume spread that he smelt it; her clothes were also fluttering in the air.

He said: O servant of the Almighty, are you coming from the mosque?

She replied: Yes.

He said: You used perfume for it?

She replied: Yes.

He said: I heard my beloved Abu Al-Qasim (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) say:

The prayer of a woman who uses perfume for this mosque is not accepted until she returns and takes a bath like the Janabah bath.

However, this restriction is not limited to mosques. Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Any woman puts on perfume then passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance then she is an adulteress.‘”

 

Summary

There is no special cloth for women visiting mosques or during prayers other than the dress code stipulated by the Shariah. Noticeable perfume, however, needs to be avoided by women when visiting mosques.

 

* Translated from the Arabic original by AboutIslam.net.

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About Dr. Jasser Auda
Jasser Auda is a Professor and Al-Shatibi Chair of Maqasid Studies at the International Peace College South Africa, the Executive Director of the Maqasid Institute, a global think tank based in London, and a Visiting Professor of Islamic Law at Carleton University in Canada. He is a Founding and Board Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, Fellow of the Islamic Fiqh Academy of India, and General Secretary of Yaqazat Feker, a popular youth organization in Egypt. He has a PhD in the philosophy of Islamic law from University of Wales in the UK, and a PhD in systems analysis from University of Waterloo in Canada. Early in his life, he memorized the Quran and studied Fiqh, Usul and Hadith in the halaqas of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. He previously worked as: Founding Director of the Maqasid Center in the Philosophy of Islamic Law in London; Founding Deputy Director of the Center for Islamic Ethics in Doha; professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, Alexandria University in Egypt, Islamic University of Novi Pazar in Sanjaq, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, and the American University of Sharjah. He lectured and trained on Islam, its law, spirituality and ethics in dozens of other universities and organizations around the world. He wrote 25 books in Arabic and English, some of which were translated to 25 languages.