‘There’s reason why women offer namaz at home,’ says SC judge | India News

New Delhi: Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, part of a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court, said on Thursday that everyone must know that since the days of the Prophet, there was no ban on women entering mosques to offer prayers even though Islam had customs and procedures that regulated how they could pray.While senior lawyer MR Shamshad argued that the practice of providing a separate place for Muslim women to pray could not be questioned by the court and said that although there was no ban on Muslim women offering prayers in mosques, it was preferable for them to do so in their homes. Justice Amanullah said, “One of the reasons why women in Islam prefer praying at home is that if every adult in a family goes to pray in the mosque, who will take care of the children?”Taking advantage of the debate on faith versus fundamental rights arising from the Sabarimala temple entry case, Shamshad said the nine-judge bench must overturn the Supreme Court’s 1994 judgment in the Ismail Farooqui case, relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi case, which ruled that mosques are not essential for prayers.“Masjid is the essence of Islam, the core belief of Muslims. All religious practices are related to mosques. But in Ismail Farooqui’s case, the SC unreasonably ruled that since prayers can be offered in the open, a mosque is not essential for prayers,” argued Shamshad.. He said the PIL demands equal treatment of women in front of mosques. No provision has been made for them in the Quran. “In temples, there is no concept of sanctum sanctorum like in mosques, where women are not allowed to enter,” he added. Justice Amanullah said, “Whether women stand in the front row or pray in a separate enclosure is determined by a 1,200-year-old custom.”