“We certainly know those who press forward among you, and We certainly know those who lag behind.”
11 – Ibn Masʿūd narrated:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once saw a woman who caught his attention. He then went to Sawdah while she was preparing perfume, and other women were present. He asked them to leave, satisfied his need with her, and afterward said: ‘If any man sees a woman who pleases him, let him go to his wife, for she possesses the same as the other.’ ”
12 – ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad related from one of their women, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered upon me while I was eating with my left hand—though I was naturally left-handed. He struck my hand, causing the morsel to fall, and said: ‘Do not eat with your left hand, for Allah has granted you a right one,’ or he said, ‘for Allah has set free for you a right hand.’ ”
= I add: This statement decisively refutes Shaykh al-Tuwayjiri’s claim (p. 170): “If a woman is in the presence of unrelated men, she must veil her face from them—even while praying.” The same applies to what he quotes from Ahmad, namely: “A woman prays and nothing of her is seen, not even the tip of her fingernail.” How could that possibly be, servants of Allah? She must raise her hands for the opening takbir, place them on her knees in bowing, on the ground in prostration, and on her thighs in the tashahhud. The consensus reported earlier by Ibn Battal (63) likewise contradicts his view.
(11) Reported by al-Darimi from Ibn Masud (with this wording), and by Muslim, Ibn Hibban and others through Jabir; Ibn al-Qattan judged it sound in al-Nazar (folio 18/12). Ahmad also transmitted it through Abu Kabsha al-Anmari; it appears in al-Sahihah, no. 235.
(12) Narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad 4/69 and 5/380; al-Haythami remarks in Majmaʿ 5/26: =