Can a Woman Pray on the Rooftop at Night?
Question:
Sometimes it is really impossible to pray inside as I am a student and stay in the room studying all day. When the azaan is called, I breathe a sigh of relief and get myself away from my room. It is sometimes refreshing to go on the rooftop and offer prayers (away from the gaze of na-mehrams). However, some elders in my family have forbidden me to pray on the rooftop as it is not right for a woman to pray outside in open air.
Please shed light on this matter. Jazak Allah.
Answer:
There is absolutely no basis for this. In principle a woman may read her prayers any where that she wishes and is appropriate for praying, inside or outside, on the roof or on the ground, in the mosque or in the house, day or night. All that is needed is for her to have an appropriate dress when praying in case a non-Mahram may see her.
If the respected elders that you mentioned know of any basis for their view or can find any basis for their view then I am more than happy to know it and comment on it.
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June 2013
Sometimes it is really impossible to pray inside as I am a student and stay in the room studying all day. When the azaan is called, I breathe a sigh of relief and get myself away from my room. It is sometimes refreshing to go on the rooftop and offer prayers (away from the gaze of na-mehrams). However, some elders in my family have forbidden me to pray on the rooftop as it is not right for a woman to pray outside in open air.
Please shed light on this matter. Jazak Allah.
Answer:
There is absolutely no basis for this. In principle a woman may read her prayers any where that she wishes and is appropriate for praying, inside or outside, on the roof or on the ground, in the mosque or in the house, day or night. All that is needed is for her to have an appropriate dress when praying in case a non-Mahram may see her.
If the respected elders that you mentioned know of any basis for their view or can find any basis for their view then I am more than happy to know it and comment on it.
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June 2013
