روي أنه كن نساء المؤمنات يشهدن مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلاة الفجر متلفعات بمروطهن ثم ينقلبن إلى بيوتهن حين يقضين الصلاة لا يعرفهن أحد من الغلس.
It is narrated that Muslim women, wrapped up in their cloaks, used to attend the Fajr prayers with the Prophet (pbuh). Then, when the prayers were completed and they would return to their homes, no one could recognize them due to the darkness [around them]1.
General Notes:
The narrator clearly intends to give an idea about the time at which the Prophet (pbuh) offered the Fajr prayers by referring to the fact that even at the time of their return after completion of prayers, the Muslim women were still unrecognizable – wrapped up in their cloaks – due to the darkness that surrounded them.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative
This narrative or a part of it, with minor variations, has been reported in Bukhariy (narrative no. 365, 553, 829 and 834), Mu’atta of Imam Malik (narrative no. 4), Muslim (narrative no. 645), Tirmidhi (narrative no. 153), Nassaiy (narrative no. 545, 546 and 1362), Abu Dawood (narrative no. 423), Ibn Maajah (narrative no. 669), Daarimiy (narrative no. 1216), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (narrative no. 24097, 24142, 25493, 26153, 26265), Ibn Hibban (narrative no. 1498, 1499, 1500 and 1501), Ibn Khuzaymah (narrative no. 350), Nassaiy’s Sunan Al-Kubraa (narrative no. 1285, 1527 and 1528), Bayhaqiy (narrative no. 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 3085), Musnad Abu Ya`laa (narrative no. 4415, 4416 and 4493), Humaidiy (narrative no. 174), Ibn Abi Shaybah (narrative no. 3233 and 3234) Abd al-Razzaq (narrative no. 2181). The preferred text, except where otherwise specified, is the one reported in Bukhariy, narrative no. 553.
The phrase “نساء المؤمنات” (i.e., ‘Muslim women’) has been rendered differently in some narratives. For instance, in some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 365, the phrase has been reported as “النساء من المؤمنات” (i.e., ‘women from among the Muslim women’); in some narratives, as in Muslim’s narrative no. 645(b), the phrase has been reported as “نساء من المؤمنات” (i.e., ‘some women from among the Muslim women’); in some narratives, as in Nassaiy’s narrative no. 546, it has been reported as “النساء” (i.e., ‘women’); in some narratives, as in Daarimiy’s narrative no. 1216, the phrase has been reported as “نساء النبي” (i.e., ‘the Prophet’s women [or wives]’); in some narratives, as in Abu Ya`laa’s narrative no. 4415, the phrase has been reported as “نساء من نساء المؤمنات” (i.e., ‘some women from among the believing women’).
The phrase “يشهدن مع رسول الله“ (i.e., ‘they [i.e., women] would attend with the Prophet of God’) has been reported in some narratives, as in Muslim’s narrative no. 645(a), as “يصلين مع النبي” (i.e., ‘offered prayers with the Prophet’); while in some other narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 365, it has been reported as “فيشهد معه النساء” (i.e., ‘women would attend with him’); and as “فيشهدها معه النساء” (i.e., ‘women would attend it with him’) in some narratives, as in Bayhaqiy’s narrative no. 3085.
The phrase “صلاة الفجر” (i.e., ‘Fajr prayer’) has been reported simply as “الفجر” (i.e., ‘Fajr‘) in some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 365; while in some other narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 829, it has been reported as “الصبح” (i.e., ‘morning’, implying ‘morning prayer’), as “صلاة الصبح” (i.e., ‘morning prayer’) in Ibn Maajah’s narrative no. 669 and as “الغداة” (i.e., ‘morning’, implying ‘morning prayer’) in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 24097. In contrast to all these narratives, Abu Ya`laa’s narrative no. 4415 does not specify the particular Sala’h, giving the impression that the narration could relate to any one of the prayers which are offered at dark.
In some narratives, as in Tirmidhi’s narrative no. 153, the word “متلفعات” (i.e., ‘wrapped up’) has been replaced with its synonym “متلففات”.
In some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 365, the words “ثم ينقلبن” (i.e., ‘then they [i.e., the women] would return’) have been reported as “ثم يرجعن” (i.e., ‘then they would return’); as “فينصرف النساء” (i.e., ‘then the women would leave’) in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 829; as “فينصرفن” (i.e., then they [i.e. the women] would leave’) in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 834; as “فيرجعن” (i.e., ‘then they would return’) in Nassaiy’s narrative no. 546; as “ثم يخرجن” (i.e., ‘then they would come out’) in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 24097; and as “ثم تخرج نساء المؤمنين” (i.e., ‘then the women of the believers would come out’) in Ibn Hibban’s narrative no. 1500.
In some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 829, the phrase “إلى بيوتهن” (i.e., to their homes’) has been omitted; while in some other narratives, as in Ibn Maajah’s narrative no. 669, it has been reported as “إلى أهلهن” (i.e., ‘to their family’); and as “إلى أهليهن” (i.e., ‘to their families’) in Bayhaqiy’s narrative no. 1973.
In some narratives, as in Nassaiy’s narrative no. 1362, the words “ثم ينقلبن إلى بيوتهن حين يقضين الصلاة” (i.e., ‘Then, when the prayers were completed and they would return to their homes’) have been replaced with “فكان إذا سلم انصرفن” (i.e., ‘then when he [that is, the Prophet] would offer salaam [signifying the completion of prayers], they would leave’).
In some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 829, the phrase “لا يعرفهن أحد” (i.e., ‘no one could recognize them’) has been replaced with “ما يعرفن” (i.e., ‘they could not be recognized’); while in some other narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 834, this phrase has been replaced with “لا يعرفن” (i.e., ‘they could not be recognized’) and with “لا يعرفن يعضهن بعضا” (i.e., ‘they could not recognize each other’); in Ibn Maajah’s narrative no. 1216, this phrase has been replaced with “قبل أن يعرفن” (i.e., ‘before they could be recognized’); and in Bayhaqiy’s narrative no. 3085, this phrase has been replaced with “وما يعرفهن أحد من الناس” (i.e., ‘no one from among the people [around them] could recognize them’).
The words “من الغلس” (i.e., ‘due to the darkness’) have been omitted in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 365; While in some narratives, as in Muslim’s narrative no. 645(b), these words have been rendered as “من تغليس رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالصلاة” (i.e., ‘due to the Prophet’s offering Sala’h in the hours of darkness’); In some narratives, as in Ibn Maajah’s narrative no. 669, the words “من الغلس” (i.e., ‘due to the darkness’) have been reported as a clarification made by a later narrator.
The narrative under consideration has been reported with a significantly different implication in Abu Ya`laa’s narrative no. 4493, which reads as follows:
لو رأى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من النساء ما نرى لمنعهن من المساجد كما منعت بنو إسرائيل نساءها لقد رأيتنا نصلي مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الفجر في مروطنا وننصرف وما يعرف بعضنا وجوه بعض.
Had the Prophet (pbuh) seen the attire of the women as we see it [these days], he would definitely have stopped them from coming to the mosques, as the Israelites had stopped their women. I have seen us praying the morning prayers with the Prophet (pbuh), wrapped up in our cloaks. And [after the completion of the prayers] we would leave, while no one among us could recognize the face of another.
(This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi)