Q117 :We live very close to a mosque and we can hear
the Imam reciting the Qur’an and announcing every new action in the
prayer. Is it acceptable that my wife joins the congregation staying at
home?
A117 : What scholars say about such questions as
joining the congregation at a distance is that there should be an easy
access for a person who joins his congregation to reach the imam. If it
was his intention to go to the Imam then he should be able to walk to
him without any serious barrier. They give the example of a
congregation at one side of a river and a group of people on the other
side. Can they join the same congregation? The answer is that if they
joined the congregation, their prayer is valid, but it is not
particularly encouraged to have such a congregation. It will probably
be more appropriate for the people on the other side of the river to
have a congregation of their own. Inside your home, with probably
staircases to go down and then go out of the building to reach the
mosque, the impediments are more serious than that of a medium-size
river. If a congregation is not advisable on both sides of such a
river, it is more so for a person in his home joining the congregation
in the mosque. Indeed, if we were to say that it is appropriate, then
it would be appropriate for the whole neighborhood to join the
congregation from within their homes. The Imam would then be offering
the prayer with a fewer people in the mosque and with more people
joining him in their flats and apartments in surrounding buildings.
That is not the purpose of the congregational prayer. Congregational
prayer serves a very important social purpose. It would be missed if
people were to stay in their homes and join the congregation in their
separate flats. The proper congregation is when they nete to the mosque
and join together. If women are keen to join the congregational prayer,
they should also go to the mosque where a place should be provided for
them. The Prophet says: “Do not prevent female servants of God from
going to God’s mosques.”
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )