the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that asking questions and taking action may occasion the initial establishment of an obligation or prohibition. If that cause did not occur, and thus no obligation or prohibition arose, neither becomes established after his death, peace and blessings be upon him. Likewise, such questioning or action may occasion the lifting of an obligation or prohibition; but if the cause did not occur, the ruling is not lifted after his death.

The following statement of ʿĀ’ishah does not fall into this category:

“Had the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, seen what women did after him, he would have barred them from the mosque, just as the women of the Children of Israel were barred.”

ʿĀ’ishah was far too mindful of Allah to sanction setting aside the revealed law after the Prophet’s death. She meant only that, had the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, seen the misconduct involved in some women’s going out, he would have prevented them from going out. Her point was that his saying:

“Do not prevent Allah’s female servants from attending Allah’s mosques,”

although expressed in general terms, is qualified by excluding outings that involve misconduct. Thus, most jurists have said that young women whose going out involves misconduct are to be prevented from doing so. The intent, then, was to qualify the general wording. Evidently, she knew from the Prophet’s conduct, peace and blessings be upon him, that he would not permit outings of this kind; she did not intend to prohibit women from going out altogether. Not all women had introduced such conduct; she intended only to prevent those who had done so.

The second response:

This hadith concerning the vessels containing donkey meat also provides evidence in the matter under discussion. He initially ordered the vessels to be broken; then, when they asked his permission