Introduction: Fatwas Regarding Women — Rulings for Muslim Women

Fatwas Regarding Women collects the rulings and responses of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-'Uthaymeen (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) on the wide range of Islamic legal questions specific to women — from purification and prayer to dress and social conduct, from marriage and family to matters of 'aqeedah and worship. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen was among the most eminent scholars of the twentieth century: his fatwas were sought from across the Muslim world, and his extensive audio and written legacy covers virtually every domain of fiqh.

Women's fiqh is a specialized and important field because many of the rulings that apply to women are distinct from those that apply to men, and because women's questions — in the areas of taharah, prayer, fasting, hajj, marriage, child-rearing, hijab, and social conduct — are among the most frequently asked in any Islamic guidance context. Having clear, evidenced, and reliable rulings on these questions is essential for Muslim women who seek to practice their religion correctly.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen's fatwas are characterized by their clarity, their grounding in the four schools of jurisprudence with attention to the strongest evidence, their accessibility to non-specialists, and their compassion for women's practical circumstances. He was known for taking difficult questions seriously and providing answers that were both doctrinally sound and practically applicable — never dismissing a question as unimportant or deflecting it with vagueness.

The collection covers a vast range: the rulings of menstruation and postnatal bleeding and their effect on acts of worship; the conditions of women's prayer; the Islamic dress code and its scholarly analysis; the permissibility of women's work and education; the rights of a wife in the marital relationship; custody of children after divorce; women's hajj; and many other topics that arise in the daily lives of Muslim women. This is an indispensable reference work.