Congregation in the mosque

 

Salam,

The mosque congregation should be led by male imams as the evidences in the Quran strongly express in favor of male leaders as the Muslims has been based on patriarch system when the first man Adam form his community and down to Abraham when God made him the Imam of the nation as shown in the following verse of the Quran:

 And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the Nations." He pleaded: "And also (Imams) from my offspring!" He answered: "But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers."

 The next point that the male should lead in front of the congregation is because the male is normally the breadwinner of the family and this has been the case since the history of man and most likely to be so in the future. The following verse is referred:

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means…..(Surah 4:34)

And there is also a command in the Quran when one is in the mosque one should be kept apart from the wife and the following verse is being referred:

….but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are Limits (set by) Allah: Approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men: that they may learn self- restraint. (Surah 2:187)

So a congregation in the mosque will have the imam or the leader of the prayer in front of the congregation where the male and the female can be separated right and left respectively behind the imam or the female congregation to be behind the male congregation. There should not be intermingling of both genders.

Asar