Mumbai: Women now get separate prayer hall at the historic Juma Masjid – Times of India

MUMBAI: Every time Afshan Dalvi from Chiplun in Konkan came to Crawford Market to shop, especially before festivals like Eid and Bakrid, she felt a bit disadvantaged. When she heard the muezzin’s call from the nearby iconic Juma Masjid’s minarets which soar into the sky, she longed to go inside and pray. While she saw many men flocking to the mosque that stands on an ancient living pond, she just stood and even missed the prayers as she didn’t find a provision for women to pray at the mosque.
But this year’s Ramzan, which just passed two weeks ago, was different. A separate prayer room exclusively for women adjacent to the mosque’s southern wall opened in the holy month. “It is a big relief for women who come from outside the city to shop in the Crawford Market-Bhendi Bazaar area. Now we can pray in perfect silence and feel empowered that the sacred space belongs to us too,” said Dalvi. “Even if it is not a prayer time and if we happen to be in the locality and want to use the washrooms, we can come here.”
The 250-year-old architecturally beautiful Juma Masjid had a tiny prayer room for women worshippers near the office of Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust (it manages both the Juma Masjid and Bada Qabrastan at Marine Lines). “We felt that the room was small and decided to create a proper space adjacent to the mosque’s main prayer hall. The women’s section too has been given the shape of a mosque with facilities of toilets and wazu (ablutions). We are going to keep women guards and cleaners too,” said the Trust’s president Shoeb Khatib.
Women had access to the mosque during the Prophet’s time but in later phases of Islamic history their entry was discouraged. And then it became almost a taboo. Barring hardly one or two, no mosque out of over 200 in the city has made arrangements for women’s participation in the congregational prayers. Mufti Ashfaq Kazi who heads the Fatwa Department at Juma Masjid bats for space for women in mosques. “Ideally women should join men in prayers and sit in the back rows. Since we don’t have an ideal society, it is better to have a separate prayer hall for women on the mosque premises,” said Kazi. He added that women worshippers must also listen to the khutbas or sermons the imams deliver on Fridays, Eid and Bakrid. A noted Islamic scholar, Kazi also heads the rich library (some of the manuscripts here are rare) at the Juma Masjid and favours a movement to start libraries at mosque premises across the country.
At the Juma Masjid the male imam leads the prayers and delivers all the sermons. Through a microphone connection the women worshippers get to listen to the imam and join the congregational prayers too. “There is more sawab (blessings) in praying in congregations than individually. It is a nice feeling that we can offer congregational prayers at this historic mosque,” said Rubina Momin from Bhiwandi.
Noorus Sehar Khan, a Kalyan resident, has visited Juma Masjid for a decade or so. Earlier, she would offer prayers at that small room and go. “Now it gives a good feeling that we too have a proper section at the Juma Masjid. We have equal rights and we too belong here,” she said.