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Fatwa CenterWomen Are Excluded from Taraweeh Prayer
Question
Imam in our Masjid completes the Qur'an during Taraweeh prayer. Because of that he says that it is Makrooh for women to attend Taraweeh prayer. Does not this contradict the Hadith of our Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) which say that although for women the best place to pray is her home, don't try to stop her if she insists on coming to the Masjid? Please clarify this.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is more proper for a woman, whether young or old, to perform all Prayers at her home as proved in the Sunnah of the Prophet . An old woman, according to the majority of Muslim scholars, is allowed to go to the mosque for Prayers day and night.
However, it is disliked for a young woman and an old one who might be a source of attraction to men to go to the mosque for Prayer. This is the opinion of the majority of Muslim scholars.
According to some scholars, a woman is allowed to go to the mosque for Prayers as long as that does not lead to what is forbidden or disliked, in which case, going to the mosque becomes forbidden or disliked. We believe that this opinion is more dominant since it was normal for women at the time of the Prophet to go to mosque for Prayers. They used to pray with the Prophet who asked his companions to allow their wives to go to the mosque for Prayer, without any form of differentiation between young and old. However, there is a strict order for women to avoid applying perfume, incense, and so on, that might cause attraction and temptation.
Allah knows best.
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