Question:
Aslam-O-Alaiykum,
My heartiest regards to all….
I want to know the meaning of below mentioned narration:
” One of ` A’ishah (Radiyallahu Anha) ‘s handmaidens came to her and said: “O Mother of believers, I went around the Ka`bah seven times and touched the corner twice or trice”. ` A’ishah (Radiyallahu Anha) replied: “May Allah not reward you for pushing your way through men. It would have been sufficient for you to you to say “Allah Akbar” as you passed by”. [Musnad al-Shafi’i] ”
Is it not allowed for woman to touch or hold Kaaba Shareef’s cover (Ghilaaf) Or What does this mean???
Please clarify the view…
Waiting for reply..
Regards.
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
This is a good question because it is one of the things people need to be reminded of constantly, although the report is self-explanatory but it needs more exposure.
There are several narrations on that topic in Musnad Al-Shafi`i (Allah be well-pleased with him) and also in his Sunan al-Ma’thura and Kitab al-Umm as well as al-Bayhaqi’s Ma`rifat al-Sunan wal-Aathaar and his Sunan al-Kubra:
(i) a hadith of the Prophet (upon him and his family, wives and children blessings and peace) in which he says to our ligelord `Umar b. al-Khattab (Allah be well-pleased with him and make him pleased):
O Aba Hafs, you are big and strong so do not crowd others at the Corner for truly you may hurt the weak person. If you find a gap touch [the Black Stone] but otherwise just say ‘Allahu akbar’ and keep going. [Musnad Ahmad, Sunan al-Bayhaqi] Al-Shafi`i, al-Umm and al-Bayhaqi, Ma`rifat al-Sunan (Hajj, al-Istilam fil-ziham); Rafi`i, Sharh Musnad Al-Shafi`i (2:329); Ibn al-Athir, al-Shafi (3:475); Banna al-Sa`ati, Bada’i` al-Minan (1:355).
(ii) Al-Shafi`i with his chain to Ibn `Abbas (Allah be well-pleased with him and his father) who said: “When you find a crowd around the Corner, go away and do not stop.” Al-Shafi`i, al-Umm and al-Bayhaqi, Ma`rifat al-Sunan (Hajj, al-Istilam fil-ziham); Rafi`i, Sharh Musnad Al-Shafi`i (2:326); Ibn al-Athir, al-Shafi (3:474); Banna al-Sa`ati, Bada’i` al-Minan (1:355). This is in fact the beginning of a hadith narrated by al-Nasa’i in his Sunan (Manasik al-Hajj, kayfa yuqabbil) and also mentioning that Tawus would pass by the Corner and not enter the fray if he saw it crowded but if he saw it deserted he would kiss the Stone thrice.
(iii) The report brought up in the question: Manbudh b. Abi Sulayman narrates from his mother that she was with `A’isha the Mother of the Believers (Allah be well-pleased with her and make her pleased) when one of her handmaidens came in to see her and said:
Mother of believers, I went around the Ka`bah seven times and touched the [Black Stone] Corner twice or thrice!. `A’ishah (Radiyallahu `anha) replied: May Allah not reward you! May Allah not reward you! You shoved your way through the men? Could you not have said ‘Allahu akbar’ and kept going? Al-Shafi`i, al-Umm and al-Bayhaqi, Ma`rifat al-Sunan (Hajj, al-Istilam fil-ziham); al-Rafi`i, Sharh Musnad Al-Shafi`i (2:326-327); Ibn al-Athir, al-Shafi (3:474-475); Banna al-Sa`ati, Bada’i` al-Minan (1:355).
There is a fourth related narration in Kitab al-Umm and al-Bayhaqi’s Ma`rifat al-Sunan:
(iv) Fom `Aisha bint Sa`d b. Abi Waqqas (Allah be well-pleased with them and make them pleased): “My father used to say to us: ‘If you women find a gap among the people then touch [the Corner] but otherwise say Allahu akbar and keep going.'” Al-Shafi`i, al-Umm and al-Bayhaqi, Ma`rifat al-Sunan (Hajj, al-Istilam fil-ziham).
Imam al-Rafi`i al-Kabir (Allah have mercy on him) said in his Sharh Musnad Al-Shafi`i (2:329):
One is commanded to touch [the Black Stone and Yemeni Corner] only if it is easy for them. However, when there is a crowd and the person will either harm others or be harmed by struggling to touch then he or she is not commanded to do it. It is narrated that he – upon him blessings and peace – said to `Abd al-Rahman [b. `Awf]: “And what did you do, Aba Muhammad, in relation to touching the Black Corner?” `Abd al-Rahman replied: “I touched it and I left it.” The Prophet said: “You hit the mark” [Muwatta’, Sahih Ibn Hibban, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Sunan al-Bayhaqi]. Al-Shafi`i said: “He means I touched it in the absence of a crowd and I left it when crowded.” It is also narrated that he – upon him blessings and peace – said to `Umar, Allah be well-pleased with him: “O Aba Hafs, you are big and strong so do not crowd others…” etc. Conforming to this instruction are the two reports from Ibn `Abbas and `A’isha, Allah be well-pleased with them.
Similarly Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari (Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Shafi fi Sharh Musnad Al-Shafi`i (3:474-475):
Al-Shafi`i’s (Allah be well-pleased with him) position is that when the person making circumambulation is unable to kiss the Black Stone and touch it due to the crowding of people around it, he or she just signals to it with his or her hand and moves on…. The hadith of `A’isha was conveyed to make clear that it is desirable for women to make circumambulation from behind the men so as not to intermix with them. It also makes clear that whoever finds a crowd around the House, it is enough for them to circumambulate and signal to the Corner.
Similarly Shaykh Ahmad b. `Abd al-Rahman al-Banna al-Sa`ati (the father of Hasan al-Banna, Allah have mercy on them) said in his footnote to these reports in his Bada’i` al-Minan fi Jam` wa-Tartib Musnad Al-Shafi`i wal-Sunan (1:355): “It shows that what is required from a woman is not to touch when there is a crowd and suffice herself with making takbir while passing by the Black Stone except if there is no crowd around it, in which case she can touch it.” He then mentions the report from `Aisha bint Sa`d. And Allah knows best.
