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Is doing Ghusl on Fridays obligatory for women too?
Praise be to Allah.
Doing Ghusl on Fridays is recommended, not obligatory, according to the majority of jurists, although some of them were of the view that it is obligatory.
This Ghusl is prescribed for those who come to Jumu`ah prayers, whether men or women, although it is men who are addressed in the verse which tells them to attend the prayer, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the prayer on Friday (Jumu`ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allah [Jumu`ah religious talk (Khutbah) and prayer] and leave off business (and every other thing). That is better for you if you did but know!” [Al-Jumu`ah 62:9]
But if a woman attends Jumu`ah prayer , it is prescribed for her to do Ghusl for it and observe its etiquette.
Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote a chapter in his Sahih entitled: It is recommended for women to do Ghusl for Jumu`ah if they want to attend it. Then he quoted the Hadith of ‘Uthman ibn Waqid Al-‘Umari from Nafi‘ from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to Jumu`ah, man or woman, let him do Ghusl.”
The authenticity of the Hadith is agreed upon, apart from the additional words “man or woman”. This additional material was narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on them), and that there was a difference of opinion as to whether it is authentic or not. It was classed as authentic by An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in Al-Majmu‘ (4/405) and Ibn Mulaqqin in Al-Badr Al-Munir (4/649).
Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Fath (2/358):
“According to the report of ‘Uthman ibn Waqid (may Allah have mercy on him) from Nafi‘, which is narrated by Abu ‘Awanah, Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on them) in their Sahihs with the wording, “Whoever comes to Jumu`ah, man or woman , let him do Ghusl , and whoever does not come to it does not have to do Ghusl,” its men are trustworthy. But Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I am afraid that there is some wahm (weakness of memory) in ‘Uthman ibn ‘aqid.”
What Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) was afraid of, namely wahm (weak memory) of ‘Uthman ibn Waqid, was stated with certainty by Abu Dawud, the author of Al-Sunan (may Allah have mercy on him).
Abu ‘Ubayd Al-ajurri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“I asked Abu Dawud about him and he said: He is a weak narrator. I said to Abu Dawud: `Abbas ibn Muhammad narrated from Yahya ibn Ma‘in that he is trustworthy. He said: He is a weak narrator. He narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to Jumu`ah, man or woman, let him do Ghusl.”, but we do not know of anyone who says this apart from him.” (Tahdhib Al-Kamal, 19/505)
Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) stated definitively that this additional material is odd and he classed it as inauthentic, as it says in Al-Silsilah Ad-Da`ifah (8/430).
What may support the view that women should do Ghusl for Jumu`ah is the reports narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his Musannaf from ‘Ubaydah bint Na’il who said: I heard Ibn ‘Umar and the daughter of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas say: Whoever among you (women) comes to Jumu`ah, let her do Ghusl. Something similar was narrated from Tawus, and it was narrated from Shaqiq that he used to tell his family, both men and women, to do Ghusl on Fridays. (See Al-Musannaf, 2/9)
Doing Ghusl for Jumu`ah makes sense, because it is cleanliness and puts a stop to unpleasant odours that annoy other people present. Hence women are asked to do that if they want to attend.
Al-Hafidh (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Fat-h: Al-Zayn ibn Al-Munir said:
“And it was narrated from Malik that whoever attends Jumu`ah apart from men, if their attendance is to seek virtue, it is prescribed for them to do Ghusl and observe all the etiquettes of Jumu`ah, but if they attend on the spur of the moment, then no.” ( Al-Fath Al-Bari)
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Majmu‘ (4/405):
“Doing Ghusl on Friday is Sunnah, not obligatory in the sense that not doing it is a sin, and there is no difference of opinion among us concerning that. With regard to the one for whom it is Sunnah, there are four views, but the correct view that is supported by the text and regard by the author and the majority as the correct view is the following: It is Sunnah for everyone who wants to attend Jumu`ah, man, woman, child, traveller, slave and others, because of the apparent meaning of the Hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, and because the aim is cleanliness, and they are all the same with regard to that. It is not Sunnah for the one who does not intend to attend, even if he is one of those who should attend Jumu`ah , because of the meaning of the Hadith and because the reason is no longer present; and because of the Hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to Jumu`ah, man or woman, let him do Ghusl, and whoever does not come to it, man or woman, does not have to do Ghusl.” (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi with this wording and with an authentic chain of narrators).”
And Allah knows best.