Why is the male entrance to a mosque larger and more ornate then the female entrance?

Question

It is true at East London Mosque

below is a link to a picture of east london mosque, the entrance nearer the camera is the male one

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Deast%2Blondon%2Bmosque%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26toggle%3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF-8&w=496&h=313&imgurl=www.islamawareness.org.uk%2FLMC.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamawareness.org.uk%2Fvisits.htm&size=58.5kB&name=LMC.jpg&p=east+london+mosque&type=jpeg&no=2&tt=86&oid=e410c066a3bae75e&ei=UTF-8

Answer 1

One of the answers above went as follows: "A woman is closest to god's face if she is at the core of her house"

?????

You really need to stop believing in the ravings of an ancient mystic. Whoever wrote the Koran, as with parts of the Old Testament, probably had a vitamin deficiency, and it affected his thinking. Please grow up. Read literature, not ravings.

Answer 2

If I met you in person and you asked me the question, I would in turn ask:

"what's your point in asking it?" - these types of questions try to draw you in to give a certain answer.

Is there an Islamic reason behind it? No. The logical reasoning? Firstly, some Mosques have only one entrance - most mosques I know actually.

Secondly, the majority of people attending the mosques are men - and that's not because the women are not allowed in (obviously since they have a door) - but because there's a saying from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that "the womans prayer at home is better for her, but do not prohibit the women from going to the mosques"

Thirdly, it's cheaper.

Answer 3

Men in Islam are required to pray their five daily prayers in the mosque.
Women are not required to do so, but it's not forbidden.

The larger mosques normally have equal stature entrances for both sexes, but I guess the so-so mosques have one grand entrance for the men in front and a side one for the women since they don't always go there.

Totally nothing to do with who has a higher standing in the religion.

Answer 4

A woman is closest to God's face, if she is found in the core of her house. And the prayer of the woman in the house is better than her prayer in the mosque."[28]

Speaks for itself.

Answer 5

In the days when Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were invented, society was highly patriarchical. They considered women to be property, ranking just above pets.

Answer 6

1. There is not a single verse in the Qur’an, which prohibits ladies from entering mosques. There is not a single authen­tic Hadith which I am aware of which states that the Prophet (pbuh) prevented or forbade women from going to mosques.

There is only one Hadith, which perhaps could have been misunderstood to mean that women should not go to the mosque. That Hadith is as follows:



Abdullah Bin Mas’ud reported the Prophet (pbuh) as saying: It is more excellent for a woman to pray in her house than in her courtyard, and more excellent for her to pray in her private chamber than in her house. [Sunan Abu Dawood Vol.1 Chapter 204 Hadith No.570]

If you base your conclusion only on this single Hadith, then you may wrongly conclude that it is not advisable or preferable for women to go to the mosque. However, your conclusion cannot be based only on one Hadith neglecting or ignoring all the other Ahadith. The context of the Hadith is also very important.

The Prophet (pbuh) said that if a person prays in the mosque he gets 27 times more blessings (Sawab). Some women argued that they had infants at home and other household work and therefore could not go to the mosque. Thus, the men would have a greater advantage than women for receiving such blessings. It is then that the Prophet (pbuh) said the above Hadith.

Hence, the conclusion is that in situations where women have infants and household work, which too is an important duty that cannot be neglected, women would not be deprived of the sawaab (blessings) if they pray in their own homes.

2. There are several Ahadith which prove that both men and women used to go to the mosques during the life of the prophet (pbuh):

(i) The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from going to the mosque of Allah.’ [Sahih Muslim Vol.1 Chapter 177 Hadith No.886]

(ii) And husbands were specifically told by him, “If the wife of any one of you asks permission (to go to the mosque) do not forbid her.” (Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book of Salaah, Chapter 80, Hadith No. 832)

(iii) From the time the Prophet (pbuh) entered Madinah, after Hijra, till his demise, he never prevented women from entering the mosque.

(iv) During the time of the Prophet (pbuh), women not only went to the mosques for prayer but also for religious education and liter­ary discussions as the mosque was the centre of community. Several Ahadith tell us that the Prophet (pbuh) addressed people in the mosque, and the audience consisted of both Muslim men and women. Women many a times asked questions to the Prophet (pbuh) in the mosque.

(v) During the Prophet’s (pbuh) time, mosques had separate entrances for ladies. Women filled the mosques from behind while men had sepa­rate entrances and filled the mosques from the front. In between the two sections were children.

(vi) It is reported by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (Pbuh) said: “The best rows for men are the first rows, and the worst ones are the last. The best rows for women are the last ones, and the worst ones for them are the first.” [Sahih Muslim Vol.1 Chapter 175 Hadith No.881)

3. Islam permits women to pray in mosques. Ladies should have separate and equal facilities. Islam does not permit the inter­mingling of sexes. Otherwise, there will be a similar scene in mosques like other places of worship where some people even come for ‘bird-watching’ and eve teasing.

4. In recent times, women are not allowed in mosques in a few countries especially in India and its neighbouring countries. Otherwise, in most of the other countries, women are allowed in mosques. Women are allowed in mosques in Saudi Arabia, in U.A.E; in Egypt, in U.S.A; in the U.K and in Singapore. Women are also allowed in the sacred mosques, Masjid-e-Haram in Makkah and in Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madinah.

why do you bother !!!

come on think on other issues...

Answer 7

In Islam men and women are equal in the eyes of God. You should have watched that programme on Channel 4 "Women Only Jihad" which found CULTURAL predjudices and they proved that it has nothing to do with religion.

Answer 8

Because men HAVE to go to the mosque, women don't have to, but if they choose to it is fine. And that is not true for all mosques by the way.

Answer 9

Interesting question.

Why is the female steeple of a cathedral larger and more ornate than the male steeple?

Answer 10

Because the men are of a larger physique tham the women.