Answer: Yes, there is an example of a pious lady who did not perform Nafl Hajj despite the fact that conditions were a lot safer in that era compared to ours. Umm-ul-Mu`minīn Sayyidatunā Sawdaĥ رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَـالٰی عَـنْهَا had already performed her Farḍ Hajj. When she رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَـالٰی عَـنْهَا was asked about a Nafl Hajj and ‘Umraĥ, she رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَـالٰی عَـنْهَا replied, ‘I have performed the Farḍ Hajj; my Lord عَزَّوَجَلَّ has commanded me to remain in my home; I swear by Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ, now only my corpse shall leave this house.’ The reporter said, ‘I swear by Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ! After that till her last breath, she رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَـالٰی عَـنْهَا never stepped outside her home.’ (Tafsīr Ad-Dur-rul-Manšūr, vol. 6, pp. 599)
May Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ have mercy on her and forgive us without accountability for her sake!
If that is the caution of Umm-ul-Mu`minīn رَضِىَ اللهُ تَعَالٰی عَـنْهُ regarding veil in that sacred era, then every bashful veiling Islamic sister can understand what kind of precautious life she should live in today’s unfavourable circumstances in which the whole concept of veiling is dying out, men and women do not despise casual socialisation and unlawfully looking at each other, مَـعَـاذَ الـلّٰـه عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
Question: Why have women been prohibited to offer congregational Ṣalāĥ in a Masjid?
Answer: The sanctity of the veil is a strong issue in Islamic law. During the apparent lifetime of the Beloved and Blessed Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم women attended the Masjid for congregational Ṣalāĥ, but the later honourable scholars رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَالٰی prohibited this due to changes in circumstances. This was prohibited despite the fact that women used to stand in the last row of the Masjid. The respected jurists رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَالٰی stated: If men, children, eunuchs and women are