Ruling On Men Listening to a Woman's Qur'aan Recitation
Question: Is it permissible for the woman to allow men to hear her voice with the recitation of the Qur'aan?
Answer: Verily all praise is due to Allaah. We praise Him, far removed is He from imperfections, and we seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allaah from the evils of our souls and the wrongdoings of our actions. Whoever Allaah guides there is none who can misguide him, and whoever He misguides there is none who can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah alone, Who has no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
"O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He deserves to be feared and do not die except as Muslims." (Aal 'Imraan:102)
"O mankind! Fear your Lord, Who created you all from a single soul, and He created from that soul its spouse, and from these two He scattered numerous men and women. And fear Allaah, by Whom you ask your mutual rights between you, and remember the wombs (i.e. keep good relations with your relatives). Verily Allaah is an Ever Watcher over you." (An-Nisaa':1)
"O you who believe! Fear Allaah and say a word that is right. He will make your deeds righteous for you, and He will forgive you for your sins. And whoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, then indeed he has achieved a tremendous success." (Al-Ahzaab:71-70)
The previous question is regarding a teacher of recitation (of the Qur'aan) if he teaches women by way of the telephone, then they recite and they allow the teacher (who is a man) to hear their voices. So the ruling is just as if he heard their voices from behind the curtain and he does not see their bodies.
So the Fitnah (evil temptation) may occur in two ways:
(1) He hears their voices by way of the sound producing organs and the air without the usage of these phone cords (i.e. he directly hears her voice), or (2) by way of the phone wires. The voice is the (same) voice of the woman itself.
And the voice of the woman is not considered 'Awrah (that which must be concealed of her body). This is contrary to what is popularly known among the people. However, it is conditional in this regard that her voice be the natural type of voice (i.e. not sweet and seductive or beautified).
In reference to her reciting with Ghunnah (a nasal sound used with the letter 'Noon' when it has a 'Sakoon' over it in Tajweed), and Iqlaab (changing the sound of a letter to the sound of the letter written above it, as done in Tajweed), and Idh-haar (clear pronunciation of the letter 'Noon' when it has a 'Sakoon' over it in certain cases in Tajweed), and so forth and so on, and the natural Madd (elongation in Tajweed), and the Muttasil (connected) and the Munfasil (disconnected), and this is Tajweed (making the recitation nice by following certain rules of pronunciation of letters during recitation). And then there comes the Prophet's (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) statement: "Whoever does not beautify his voice with the Qur'aan then he is not of us."*
Therefore it is not appropriate that this be done (by women) in front of the men at all. Regardless of whether that is by way of broadcast (i.e. radio) or by way of the telephone.
The Shaykh, the 'Allaamah, the Hadeeth scholar of the Islaamic lands: Muhammad Naasir ud-Deen Al-Albaanee (Rahimahullaah)
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* It was reported from Sa'eed bin Abee Sa'eed that he said that the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "He is not from us, who does not beautify his voice with the (recitation of the) Qur'aan."
Ash-Shaikh Al-Albaanee said that it is Saheeh. Saheeh Abee Daawood, Kitaabus-Salaah, Baab: Istihbaab ut-Tarteel fil-Qiraa'ah (2/74), hadeeth 1469. And hadeeth 1471 from the narration of Abee Lubaabah and the Shaykh (Rahimahullaah) said that it is Hasan Saheeh.
Also see Al-Bukhaaree, Kitaabut-Tawheed, Baab: Qawl Allaahi Ta'aalaa: "And make your speech secret or proclaim it aloud, verily He (Allaah) is All-Knowing of that which is in the chests. Does He not know, the One Who created, and He is the Most Subtle, the Most-Aware?" (Al-Mulk:13-14) From a hadeeth reported by Abee Hurayrah.
It was also recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and Al-Haakim on the authority of Sa'd, and Al-Haakim also recorded it on the authority of Ibn 'Abbaas. At-Tabaraanee recorded it in Al-Kabeer on the authority of Abee Lubaabah and on the authority of Ibn 'Abbaas.
The Prophet's statement in the hadeeth, "He is not of us", this means he is not from those who act according to our Sunnah and traverse upon our path. This was said by Al-Manaawee in Al-Faydh.
Source: As-Silsilah as-Salafiyyah li-Ihyaa'i Sunani Khayril-Bariyyah (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam)
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