333 – Ibn Mājah transmits—on the authority of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him)—the report: “Let no woman lead a man in prayer, no desert Arab lead a migrant, and no flagrant sinner lead a believer.” Its chain of transmission is weak (1).

Hadith grading
The narration is weak. The author explains: “Its chain is feeble because it contains ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-ʿAdawī narrating from ʿAlī ibn Jadʿān—both accused of fabricating reports, and the latter’s shaykh is weak. A second route passes through ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb, who is charged with stealing hadiths and confusing the chains.”

Glossary
• aʿrābī: a Bedouin, one of the desert dwellers who constantly travel with their tents and herds.
• muhājir: a person who migrates—fleeing with his religion—from a land of disbelief to a land of Islam.
• fājir (pl. fujjār): originally “to split something wide open”; by extension, one who plunges into sin and flagrant disobedience.

Points derived from the hadith
1 – A woman’s leadership of men in prayer is invalid, for she is not among those qualified to be an imam. Near consensus has formed on this ruling, supported by the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “A people who entrust their affairs to a woman will never prosper.” [Al-Bukhārī 4425]