Women Praying in a Loud Voice

15-5-2002 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can women pray with a loud voice?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

A woman's prayer could be performed in two different situations; the ruling of each situation differs from the other.

First, she performs the prayer alone or in the presence of her Mahaarim (unmarriageable male relatives) only, or she leads other women in prayer; in this case, reciting aloud in the prayers which are performed aloud and reciting silently in those prayers which are not performed aloud is Sunnah. The ruling of reciting aloud when it is required to do so, and reciting silently when it is required to do so, is same for women and men. However, she should raise her voice only to the degree that only she can hear herself and those who are near to her can hear her.

Second, she performs the prayer in the presence of non-Mahram men. The majority of Muslim scholars dislike her raising her voice so that the doors of temptation that might be caused from her voice will be blocked. The Maaliki scholars are of the opinion that if there is fear of temptation from her voice it is forbidden for her to raise her voice.

A few scholars permitted the raising of her voice, but for a hearer to enjoy her voice is unlawful according to them. The evidence of those who dislike the raising of a woman's voice in the presence of men is the Hadeeth of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) who said: “The saying of 'Subhan Allah' (Glorified is He) is for men [i.e. when correcting the Imam in prayer] and clapping is for women.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

They deduced that correcting a mistake in prayer is an obligation; despite this fact, it is not permitted for a woman to say 'Subhan Allah', thus, it is more appropriate not to permit her to perform a prayer aloud which is not an obligation.

For more benefit that a woman’s voice is not an ‘Awrah, please refer to Fataawa 246091, 263791, and 84462.

Allah knows best.

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