Are the rewards of praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi only fixed for men, and not for the women? We know that it is better for the woman to pray at home or the hotel at the time of Hajj or ‘Umrah. How can we convince them of that, specially when they are there at the time of Hajj and ‘Umrah. I read an answer in your fatwa that some scholars pointed out that the rewards are only peculiar for men, but what is the other point of view regarding this?

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is better for the woman to pray at her home, and it is more rewardable than praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque). Shaykh Ibn ʻUthaymeen addressed this topic. He was asked, “Does the multiplication of reward for praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and Al-Masijid An-Nabawi apply to men only, or does it apply to both men and women? If it includes women, can we then say that the woman's prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam or Al-Masijd An-Nabawi is better than her prayer at home? How do we refute the statement of the Prophet who said 'but their houses are better for them’?”

He answered:

“This is a very rough thing to say: ‘How do we refute the statement of the Prophet?’ Apparently, the asker meant: how do we reconcile this with the statement of the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam?

I say: the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, ‘One prayer in this mosque of mine is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere except Al-Masjid Al-Haraam.’

This is the same mosque about which he said, ‘Do not prevent your women from visiting the mosque, but their houses are better for them.’ He thus informed us that the woman's prayer in her house in Madeenah is better than her prayer in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi despite the multiplication of the reward for praying in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi. Likewise, in Makkah, her prayer at home is better than her prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam.

Someone might ask: ‘How could it be better when a prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere and a prayer in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi is better than one thousand prayers or more elsewhere?’ In response, we say: there is a distinction between the quantity and the quality. The quality and enormity of the reward of praying at her home counterparts the reward yielded by the large number of prayers.

Someone may also say, ‘When a woman prays in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, she does not earn one hundred thousand rewards or one thousand rewards for her prayer in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi because the relevant ahaadeeth addressed those who pray in mosques, and who are those who pray in mosques? It is the men, not the women. Therefore, one would doubt whether if the woman prays in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, does she earn one hundred thousand rewards? And if she prayed in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, is her prayer better than one thousand prayers? This matter calls for further investigation and contemplation because the addressed people in the relevant ahaadeeth about the virtue of (praying in) mosques are the men. As for the woman, her prayer in her house is better than her prayer in the mosque, even if it is Al-Masjid Al-Haraam or Al-Masjid An-Nabawi.” [Fataawa Al-Liqaa’ Ash-Shahri]

The Hanbali scholar Ibn Muflih said in Al-Mubdi’:

“Regarding the statement ‘and her house is better for her,’ our scholars (i.e. the Hanbalis) held that its indication is unrestricted (it applies to all mosques). Al-Majd and others decisively stated this as the correct view given the other texts about the woman’s prayer with reference to Al-Masjid An-Nabawi. It was declared to be the only correct view in this regard in ʻUyoon Al-Massa’il, Al-Mustawʻib, and Ar-Riʻaayah, suggesting that the rewards for praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam is multiplied one hundred thousand times, and in Madeenah (in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi) it is fifty thousand times, and in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem) it is half of that, based on the hadeeth reported by Anas. Accordingly, the intended meaning is that reward is multiplied (for the prayer in these mosques) other than the woman's prayer in her house. Hence, there is no contradiction.” [Al-Mubdi’ Sharh Al-Muqni’]

There is a scholarly view which suggests that the woman's prayer in her house is not better than her prayer in Al-Majsid Al-Haraam or Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, relying on a hadeeth classified by some scholars as Hasan (good).

Al-ʻIraaqi wrote after addressing the topic of women going out to pray in the mosque:

“Some scholars excluded the woman's prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi based on the following report: ʻAbdullah ibn Masʻood, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘By Allah, Who is the only deity worthy of worship, no prayer is better than a woman's prayer in her house except for Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, and except for an old woman in her Minqalayn (i.e. her Khuff [leather socks] or worn-out Khuff).’ [Al-Bayhaqi] Its chain of narration included Al-Masʻoodi, whose memory scholars questioned.” [Tarh At-Tathreeb]

Al-Albaani commented on this hadeeth, saying, “Its chain of narration is Hasan. As-Sanʻaani said, ‘It was narrated on the authority of Ibn Masʻood as a Marfoo‘ hadeeth (directly attributed to the Prophet, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam) and as a Mawqoof report (stopped at the level of the Companion). It was also narrated on his authority by At-Tabaraani.’ Al-Haythami said, ‘Its chain of narration included trustworthy reporters, and the compiler classified it as Hasan.’” [At-Tanweer]

Allah knows best.