she is commanded, if something arises for her during prayer with men present, to clap so that her voice will not be heard. Although a woman’s voice is not itself considered ‘awrah, it may give rise to temptation. Therefore, we say that a woman should recite the talbiyah quietly, loud enough for her companion to hear but without raising her voice openly.

This is one of the many rulings in which women differ from men. Just as she differs from him in physical constitution and innate disposition, she also differs from him in legal rulings. Allah is All-Wise; His rulings in the Sacred Law are suited to His creational decrees.

Question: The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, differed over whether one recites the talbiyah while remaining in a place, or only while proceeding onward.

Answer: Some scholars held that he recites the talbiyah only while proceeding onward. If he is staying in a place—that is, camped at ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah, or Mina—then he does not recite it, because the talbiyah means responding to the call, and this does not accord with remaining in place: one who responds should advance toward the one whose call he is answering, rather than respond while staying where he is. This latter view was the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him: that one recites the talbiyah only while travelling between the sacred sites. The first view holds that he continues to recite the talbiyah until he stones the Jamrat al-‘Aqabah (the Aqabah Pillar), whether he is staying in a place or proceeding onward.