Abstract
When the judiciary in the classical fiqh literature is evaluated in a general framework, while there is no difference between men and women in terms of both the execution of the judiciary and the principles of the judiciary, there are different provisions for men and women for example; there is no religious duty of zakah for women in terms of religious cult, and there are other differences such as testimony in transactions and blood money in criminal law. Fundamentally there is no difference between men and women in the provisions of the prayer in terms of religious cult of fiqh. In the Nass, elaborate details regarding to the conditions and provisions of prayer are not defined in the verses of Quran, whereas Sunnah and practices of Prophet’s companions regarding the conditions and provisions of the Salah constitutes the basis for the prayer. When we look at the narrations from the Prophet concerning the prayer, it is understood that there is no fundamental difference between men and women in the conditions and rituals of prayer, however there are narrations which particularly refer to women and includes the condition of Setr-i awrah (covering intimate parts of the body).
Aside from the absence of any nass (written law) about women's prayers, except for the setr-i awret (covering intimate parts of the body), as it is narrated in the hadith that “Go back to your families. Teach them religious knowledge. Just pray as you see me as praying. When the time for prayer comes, one of you read the adhan. May your old lead you as imam!" which shows that men and women are subject to the same provisions regarding the manner of prayer without any restraints. Nevertheless, when we look at the provisions regarding the manner of prayer within the framework of Sunni fiqh sects; although there is no difference in terms of the wajib, sunnah or manners of the prayer, there are some differences in terms of the manner of the rituals. At this point, while there is no distinction between men and women in the provisions adopted by some sects, it emerges that there is a general or detailed distinction in some sects.
It is the Hanafis who make a gender-based distinction regarding the nature of certain rituals in prayer and place the most detailed provisions on the subject among sects. When Hanafi literature is examined; for women, it is seen that different provisions are made regarding the status of women in takbir, recitation, kneeling, prostrating, sitting between the two prostrating, tashahhud and the final sitting. In the Shafii and Hanbali literature, some superficial and a few judgments are mentioned about these situations. Malikis, on the other hand, with a perspective different from the other three sects, accepted that all kinds of verses and hadiths related to prayer are for both men and women. It is seen that those three sects other than Malikis try to base their views on some narrative accounts and rational inferences, on this matter the narrative account seems to be weak. Nevertheless, it is possible for the fuqaha that they attributed a fiqh value to such narrations according to some situations in which they consider hadiths and deeds are weak.
Apart from relying on some hadiths and accounts of the companions of prophet Muhammad in the decrees about the quality of the rituals in the prayers of women, it is seen that almost no evidence on the subject is mentioned in the Shafii literature, and it is partially included in the Hanafi and Hanbali literature. This situation, in our opinion, shows that the three sects make judgments based on some general principles. At this point, the expression أستر لها (more suitable for the veiling of women), which is mentioned in the three sects literature regarding the basis of the differences regarding the prayer of women, shows that the fuqaha considers the principle of compliance with veiling as a criterion in the judgment of women's prayer. In this study, it will be tried to examine the evidences and opinions expressed by the Fuqaha on the subject by revealing the motives of sects in the introduction of different provisions for women within the framework of the rituals of prayer.