‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If your wife asks your permission to go to the mosque, do not prevent her." Bilāl ibn ‘Abdullāh said: "By Allah! We will prevent them." Ibn ‘Umar turned to him and angrily insulted him in an unprecedented manner, saying: "I am telling you that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said so, and you say: 'By Allah! We will prevent them'!" Another version reads: "Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from (going to) the mosques of Allah."
GradingAuthentic hadith
AttributionAl-Bukhari and Muslim with its two versions
Explanation
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If your wife asks your permission to go to the mosque, do not prevent her." This is in order not to deprive her of the merit of performing the congregational prayer in the mosque. The Hadīth highlights the ruling on a woman going out to the mosque for prayer, which is permissible. Bilāl, a son of ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, was present when his father was reporting this Hadīth and said: "By Allah! We will prevent them." Bilāl said so without any intention to object to the legislator, as his objection was just out of his jealousy and desire to protect the women, whose behavior differed from what was common during the Prophet's lifetime, especially regarding the wide use of adornments and the like. However, his father believed that his objection was out of rejection of the Prophet's Sunnah. Therefore, he angrily insulted him in an unprecedented manner out of his anger and zeal for Allah, the Almighty, and His Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), saying: "I am telling you that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said so, and you say: 'By Allah! We will prevent them'!"