SECTION ON PRAYER · 54 – THE PROHIBITION OF WOMEN FROM GOING TO THE MOSQUE
Yahya ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: He said that Aishah, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, related that if the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had seen the innovations (of women in adornment, clothing, and perfume), he would have forbidden them from the mosque, just as the women of the Children of Israel were prohibited from the synagogues.
Yahya said: I asked Amrah, “Were the women of the Children of Israel prohibited from places of worship?” And she replied, "Yes."
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The prayer of a woman in her home is better than the prayer she prays in its courtyard, better than the prayer she prays within its chambers, better than the prayer she prays in other parts of its house.”
It is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If we were to reserve this gate [of the mosque] for women.”
Nafi’ said: Ibn ‘Umar did not enter through that gate again until his death.
[COMMENTARY: The explanation of this hadith is found in hadith no. 462.]