4] Can women gather in the house of one of their number to offer Taraweeh prayer?

4]
We live in a village in which there are no women who go to the mosque,
and there is no space for women in the mosque. Is it permissible for
women to gather in one house to pray Taraweeh in congregation? If that
is permissible, should the prayer be recited quietly or what? How can
they pray in congregation if the prayer is to be recited aloud like
Fajr or 'Isha' and one of them leads theothers – should she recite out
loud or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is permissible for women to gather to pray Taraweeh in the house of
one of them, subject to the condition that there isno wanton display
of adornments (tabarruj) involved in their going out, and that there
is no danger of fitnah.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There is nothing wrong with women attending Taraweeh prayers so long
as there is no danger of fitnah, subject to the condition that they go
outin a decorous manner, notmaking a wanton display of their
adornments or wearing perfume. End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 14, question no. 808.
But it is better for each of them to pray on her own in her house, and
in an inner part of the house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said that it is better for women to offer
obligatory prayers in theirhouses than to pray in themosque, so it is
more apt that this should also applyto naafil prayers.
It was narrated from Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
best mosques for women are the innermostparts of their houses."
Narrated by Ahmad, 26002; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Targheeb, 341.
Indeed it is better for a woman to pray in her home than to pray in
congregation in al-Masjid al-Haraam (in Makkah) or in the Prophet's
Mosque behind the Prophet himself (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).
It was narrated from Umm Humayd, the wife ofAbu Humayd al-Saa'idi (may
Allaah be pleased with them both) that she came to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allaah,
I love to pray with you." He said: "I know that you love to pray
withme, but your praying in your room is better for you than your
praying in your house, and your praying in your house is better for
you than your praying in your courtyard,and your praying in your
courtyard is better for youthan your praying in the mosque of your
people, and your praying in the mosque of your people is better for
you than your praying in my mosque." So she gave orders that a
'mosque' be built for her in the innermost and darkest part of her
house, and she used to pray there until she met Allaah (i.e., died).
Narrated by Ahmad, 26550; classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah, 1689;
classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 340.
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah included this hadeeth in a chapter entitled: It is
preferable for a woman topray in her house rather than in her
courtyard, andin the mosque of her people rather than in the Mosque of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), eventhough
one prayer offered in the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) is equivalent toone thousand prayers offered in
any other mosque. This is the evidence that the words of the Prophet
(peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him), "One prayer in this mosque
of mine is better than a thousand prayers in any other mosque" refer
only to men and not women.
Al-Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeem Abaadi (may Allaah have mercy on him)said:
It is better for women to pray in their houses because then there is
no danger of fitnah. This ruling is even more emphatic because of the
wanton display (tabarruj) and adornment of women.
'Awn al-Ma'bood, 2/193
Secondly:
If women gather togetherin one house in accordance with the conditions
mentioned above, it is permissible forthem to pray in congregation.
The one who is leading them in prayer should stand in themiddle of the
(first) row, not out in front, and she should not lead men in prayer
even if they are her mahrams. She should recite our loud just as men
do in the prayers where reciting out loud is required, so long as no
men except her mahrams can hear her voice.
It was narrated that UmmWaraqah bint 'Abd-Allaah ibn Nawfal
al-Ansaariyyahasked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) for permission to appoint a muezzin in her house who would call
her to prayer, and he told her to lead the people of her household in
prayer.
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 591; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in
Irwa'al-Ghaleel, 493. :->