Women leading prayers

 

Can women pray in congregation ( Jamaah ) with a woman performing as Imaam ? 

Praise be to Allaah. 

It
is not prescribed for women to recite the adhaan and iqaamah as it is
for men. If a woman does recite the adhaan and iqaamah, it may be one
of the three following scenarios:  

1      
– She recites the adhaan and iqaamah for
a group of men only, or for a mixed group of men and women. This is
not prescribed in Islam and her adhaan and iqaamah for a group of men
do not count

2      
– She recites them for a group of women only.

3      
– Or she recites them for herself when she is alone. 

It is permissible
for her to recite the adhaan for a group of women or for herself, but
it is not like the case with men. For men it is  more emphatically
required, whereas for women, if they give the adhaan it is permissible,
and if they do not, it is also permissible. If a woman does recite the
adhaan, she must keep her voice low and make it just loud enough for
her companions to hear. 

If
a woman says the iqaamah for herself or for a group of women, that is
better and is closer to what is mustahabb, but if she does not do that,
the prayer is still valid. 

With
regard to a woman leading the prayers and acting as an imaam, one of
the two following scenarios may apply: 

1
– A woman leading men, or a mixed group of men and women. It is not
correct for a woman to lead men in prayers at all, regardless of whether
it is a fard (obligatory) prayer or a naafil (supererogatory) prayer.

2 –
A woman leading women in prayer. It is mustahabb for women to pray together
(in jamaa’ah) when they get together in a place. One of them should
lead the others, but she should stand with them in the middle of the
row. It is permissible and correct for a woman to lead other women in
prayer.