Men saying the Tasbeeh (i.e., 'Subhaan Allaah') and women clapping (Hadeeth)

8-2-2012 | IslamWeb

Question:

"Tasbeeh is for men, and clapping the hands is for women." Is this an authentic Hadeeth? What is the meaning of this Hadeeth?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His Slave and Messenger.

The Hadeeth referred to is Saheeh (Authentic). It was narrated in the two most authentic books after the Quran: Al-Bukhari and Muslim. It was also narrated by Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa'i, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and others  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  them all.

The incident behind this Hadeeth was that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) , sought to reconcile members of the tribe of Banu ‘Amr Ibn ‘Awf, and was late for the start of prayer. When he arrived, Abu Bakr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him was leading the prayer. When the Muslims who were praying saw the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) they clapped their hands to draw Abu Bakr’s attention. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) beckoned to Abu Bakr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him to stay in his place. Abu Bakr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him   pulled back, so the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) came forward and led the prayer. After the prayer was finished, the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) taught the people the Hadeeth in question.

This Hadeeth teaches Muslims that when necessary the praying person can make a sound to alert the Imaam. If the prayer is being performed by a man, he may utter Tasbeeh, that is, to say, 'Subhaan Allaah', which means, 'Exalted is Allaah.' If the prayer is being performed by a woman, she may  clap by striking the palms of her hands together, or strike her left palm on the back of her right hand. It might be necessary for the praying person to do this to communicate with someone who is knocking on the door, to caution a blind person, or to alert someone who is absent minded.

Allaah Knows best.

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