Under which conditions can a man lead prayers to women? How is intention for being the imam made? Is it necessary to make a separate intention for women?
It is said that "it is necessary to make intention for women too when a man leads a prayer to the congregation that includes women." Is it necessary (fard, wajib, etc)? How should the imam make the intention in that case?
Dear Brother / Sister,
Under which conditions can a man lead prayers to women?
In general, a man can lead a prayer to women; it is permissible. However, in that case, it is necessary for the man to make intention for being the imam (leading the prayer). Otherwise, the prayer of the woman (women) following him will not be valid.
It is not appropriate for a man to lead a prayer to non-mahram women in khalwah. However, if all or some of the women that follow him in a prayer in khalwah are his relatives, that is, mahram women, he can lead the prayer by making intention to lead the prayer.
Tahawi says it is makruh for them to perform a prayer in khalwah even if some of them are mahram women for the imam. This issue is specially explained in the explanation. (Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Kitabevi: 1/296.)
When the imam leads a prayer to men only, he does not have to make intention for being the imam. However, it is necessary for the imam to make intention as "I intend to lead the prayer to the congregation following me". If he does not make intention like that, the prayer of the women in the congregation will not be valid.
In that case, it is necessary for the imam who leads a prayer to make intention as follows whenever he leads a prayer: "I intend to pray the fard of this time and to lead the prayer as the imam."
Questions on Islam
- Can a woman perform a prayer in congregation with a non-mahram man?
- How should the imam who will lead a prayer to the congregation make the intention (niyyah)?
- What are the issues that a person who will be an imam for people from different madhhabs should pay attention to? How is the issue of wudu?
- Should we read the chapter of al-Fatiha in the 3rd and 4th rak’ahs when we perform a fard prayer in congregation when the imam reads silently?
- Which nafilah prayers apart from tarawih prayer can be performed in congregation? How should we make intention (niyyah) for them?
- Prayers in Congregation
- What are the necessary qualities for an Imam to have in order to lead a congregational prayer?
- Jama’ah Salah (Prayer in Congregation)
- Istikhlaf: How does an imam whose wudu is broken appoint somebody from the congregation as the imam? Is the wudu of the congregation following the imam broken if he makes a mistake that invalidates his wudu?
- How is intention (niyyah) made for prayers? How are intentions made in Arabic? Are there any differences in intentions based on madhhabs? Do intentions change based on madhhabs?
