No restriction on women to enter mosques, AIMPLB tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday claimed before the Supreme Court that there was no restriction on women to enter mosques.

Islam does not restrict women from coming to the mosque for namaz, but it is preferable that they stay at home, it said.

In his submission before a nine judge bench hearing the matter arising out of Sabarimala reference, senior advocate M R Shamshad for AIMPLB said that women are allowed to offer namaz in the mosque subject to some discipline.

The issue, he submitted, has come up before the bench because a writ petition was filed seeking that women be allowed to pray in mosques.

Since there is no sanctum santorum inside the mosque, then nobody can insist to stand at a particular place or, for that matter, to be the first to lead the namaz, he said.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked him if women are allowed to enter the mosque.

To this, Shamshad submitted that there was consensus among all denominations of Islam that there was no restriction for women to enter the mosque. But there is consensus that it is not essential for women to be part of the congregation performing namaz.

Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah said that right from the beginning, there is also no dispute that women can enter and that it started from the Prophet himself.

Shamshad said the Prophet himself said, don't stop women coming to the mosque and there is clarity on this. He said that for a man, it was obligatory to be part of the congregation, but it is not mandatory for woman.

The counsel also said, for a woman, it is preferable that she stays at home and prays, and she gets the same religious reward but if a woman wants to come, she can.

"Except that she can't be part of the congregation," the CJI asked.

Shamshad said, “No, they will be a part of the congregation. If they are going to mosque, the purpose is to participate in congregation, and that is permitted”.

“So, it is not mandated for them to attend a congregation," Justice Nagarathna asked.

Shamshad said that it is "not preferable" for a woman to attend the congregation in the mosque. Justice Amanullah observed, “So the reason was that if everybody goes from the house, who looks after the children?"

Shamshad contended that the doctrine of essential religious practice (ERP) has been wrongly applied by the courts in the context of Islam.

It was also contended before the bench that Islam is a heavily and thoroughly written religion, with elaborate detailing on dos and don'ts. The counsel also submitted that while some acts are strictly categorised as forbidden, some are prescribed as mandatory, and some acts are recommended as desirable.