Men and women racing towards the goodness

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله said:

❝In these Ahaadeeth, there is evidence that the front rows (in the Masaajid) are more virtuous for the men than the last ones; and the last rows are better for the women than the first ones, because the last rows for the women are the furthest away from the men than the front rows. And the further a woman is away from the men, the better for her.

And based on this reasoning - and by the Will of Allaah it will be correct – if the women are in a special place (or in separate halls), like how it is found in many of todays’ Masaajid, we say: the best rows for the women are the first ones, and the worst rows are the last ones – like how it is for the men, as long as the women are separate from the men and there is a partition (or barrier) between them. This is because in the Sharee`ah it is loved that one races towards goodness, and this is also from it.❞

[Sharh Saheeh Muslim (2/205) of Shaikh Ibn al-`Uthaymeen]