Are women obliged to attend the Eid prayer?

Question

My name is ayub and I’m from Slough United Kingdom

My question is it Faraz on women to attend Eid prayers?

— Ayub, Slough, UK

Answer

It is not farḍ, obligatory, for women to attend the `Eīd prayers. To attend the congregational prayers is only the responsibility of men.

Listing the conditions which necessitate attendance in congregational prayers, Bahār e Sharī`at states:

عاقل بالغ حر قادر پر جماعت واجب ہے

“Jamā`ah is necessary upon the sane, mature, free, and able [man].”

[Bahār e Sharī`at, Vol. 3, Jamā`at ke Masā’il]

It is not necessary for the woman to attend any prayer in the masjid, and attendance in the `Eīd prayers should particularly be avoided by them. The day of `Eīd is a day of celebration for those of faith and it is a day wherein the people wear the best of their clothing as a form of displaying their happiness. Due to this fact, the probability of fitnah (evil) occurring amongst the two opposite genders only increases. The Mother of the Believers Sayyidah `Ā’ishah, may Allāh be pleased with her would say:

لو أدرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ما أحدث النساء لمنعهن كما منعت نساء بني اسراييل

“Had the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh send blessing upon him and salutation, witnessed what the women have started doing, he would surely have prohibited them [from going to the masjid] as the women of Banū ‘Isrā’īl had been prohibited.”

[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 869]

This was her position in the time wherein the population consisted of men and women who were of the Ṣaḥābah and the Tābi`īs – those whose standards of piety and purity cannot be met in this era of evils. Thus, in this era, wherein the evils of immodesty have grown exponentially, the women must avail the ease granted to them in not having to attend the `Eīd prayers, and Allāh knows best.

Faqīr Sayyid `Abdul Ṣamad al-Qādirī · (May he be pardoned) · Dhū al-Ḥijjah 10, 1445