Reference: Fatāwa al-lajnah ad-dā’imah lil-buḥūth al-‘ilmiyyah wa’l-iftā, Vol 6 Page 83
Question: Is it permitted for women to give the adhān, and is their voice considered to be ‘awrah? [1]
Response: Firstly, the correct view from the opinions of the scholars is that it is not legislated for a woman to give the adhān because this responsibility was not given to women, they were not tasked with it during the time of the Prophet ﷺ nor during the time of the rightly guided caliphs – may Allāh be pleased with them.
Secondly, a woman’s voice is not ‘awrah in any way. [At the time of the Prophet ﷺ], women would complain to him, they would ask him questions regarding Islām, and they would do this with the rightly guided caliphs, may Allāh be pleased with them, as well as with the rulers and people of authority after them.
Women would give the greetings of salām to non-related men and return the greeting of salām. Nobody amongst the scholars of Islām criticised them for this.
However, it is not permitted for a woman to speak softly (i.e. in an overtly effeminate manner) nor speak with a flirtatious tone, because this will tempt men and cause problems for themselves.
This is due to the saying of Allāh, the Most High,
{O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women: if you have Taqwa [of Allāh], then do not be overly effeminate in speech [with men] else those with sickness in their hearts may be tempted, rather speak in a moderate tone} [33:32]
Footnotes
[1] Translator’s note: The word ‘awrah normally refers to the parts of the body which must be covered in front of other unrelated men and/or women. The notion that a “women’s voice is ‘awrah” necessitates it not being heard in front of unrelated men.
هل صوت المرأة عورة؟
المرجع: فتاوى اللجنة الدائمة للبحوث العلمية والإفتاء مجلد ٦ صفحة ٨٣
السؤال: هل يجوز للمرأة أن تؤذن، وهل يعتبر صوتها عورة أو لا؟
الجواب: أولاً ليس على المرأة أن تؤذن على الصحيح من أقوال العلماء؛ لأن ذلك لم يعهد إسناده إليها ولا توليها إياه زمن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا في زمن الخلفاء الراشدين رضي الله عنهم.
ثانيًا ً ليس صوت المرأة عورة بإطلاق، فإن النساء كُن يشتكين إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ويسألنه عن شؤون الإسلام، ويفعلن ذلك مع الخلفاء الراشدين رضي الله عنهم وولاة الأمور بعدهم، ويسلمن على الأجانب ويردون السلام، ولم ينكر ذلك عليهن أحد من أئمة الإسلام، ولكن لا يجوز لها أن تتكسر في الكلام ولا تخضع في القول؛ فإن ذلك يغري بها الرجال ويكون فتنة لهم لقوله تعالى
{يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ ۚ إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ وَقُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَّعْرُوفًا} . الآية.
اللجنة الدائمة
