Re: Women’s right to lead mixed-gathering prayers
In case you missed one of the links, here is a littel excerpt:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “I left among you that which if you hold on to it you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah, and my Sunnah.”
Consensus and unanimity on the interpretation of a certain text in these two sources (the Qur’an and the Sunnah) is an irrefutable proof for its meaning and a clear sign and evidence that any other later interpretation is nullified, void, and rejected. Allah Almighty says, (And whoso opposeth the Messenger after the guidance (of Allah) hath been manifested unto him, and followeth other than the believer’s way, We appoint for him that unto which he himself hath turned, and expose him unto hell a hapless journey’s end (An-Nisaa’ 4:115).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described the successful group among the ones that went astray as being those “who follow and behave (after) what I and my Companions follow and behave (after).”
Second, there is unanimous consensus for the entire Ummah, in the east and west, that women cannot lead the Friday Prayer nor can they deliver the sermon. Whoever takes part in such a Prayer, then his Prayer is nullified. It is never found in any jurisprudential text of Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi`is or Hanbalis, nor even from Shiite scholars, that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer or deliver the sermon. This opinion [that a woman can lead the Friday Prayer] is an innovation and a heresy on any account, nullified by all scholars.