His statement: “Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘Women are not obliged to give either the adhan or the iqamah.’ Al-Bayhaqi narrated it with a sound isnad.”

I say: This is a gross error. The author merely followed al-Shawkani in Nayl al-Awtar 2/27, and al-Shawkani in turn followed al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Talkhis 1/211. The report is actually transmitted by ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar; this ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar is al-ʿUmari al-Mukabbir, who is weak, as I showed in al-Daʿifah 2/270, and I also traced it in Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzaq through the same route. They appear to have imagined that ʿAbd Allah was ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿUmar, who is reliable, but that is not the case. Furthermore, the report, on its face, clashes with what Ibn Abi Shaybah relates in al-Musannaf 1/223 with a good chain from Wahb ibn Kaysan: Ibn ʿUmar was asked, “Are women required to give the adhan?” He grew angry and said, “Shall I forbid the remembrance of Allah?!” Imam Ahmad cited this as proof, as I mentioned there; consult al-Shawkani’s earlier remarks a few pages back.

His statement: “And from ʿAʾishah—that she used to give the adhan, pronounce the iqamah, lead the women in prayer, and stand in the middle of them; reported by al-Bayhaqi.”

I say: It is found in al-Sunan al-Kubra 1/408 and 3/131 through the route of al-Hakim, who also records it in al-Mustadrak 1/203–204, and in its chain is Layth ibn Abi Sulaym. The same route appears in ʿAbd al-Razzaq 3/126 and Ibn Abi Shaybah 1/223, though without the wording about her leading the women. That additional clause, however, is corroborated by Ibn Abi Layla, from ʿAtaʾ, from ʿAʾishah, as recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah 2/89.

Each narration therefore strengthens the other. There is also another chain through Raʾitah al-Hanafiyyah, stating that ʿAʾishah led a group of women in an obligatory prayer, standing among them in the middle. It was recorded by ʿAbd al-Razzaq 3/141, al-Daraqutni 1/404, and al-Bayhaqi 3/131.

Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmuʿ 4/199: