Is there supposed to be a wall or partition separating men and women in the Masjid?

    In the Masjid of the first Muslim community and for many centuries in the Muslim world thereafter there were no walls separating the men from the women in Masjid.  Neither did the Blessed Prophet ever order it nor did any of his Sahaba.  

    The practice is a Bid'ah, or evil innovation, that is practiced widely in the Muslim world due to the influences of Hindu and Persian cultures during the middle ages.  This practice goes along with other rampant Bid'ahs in the Muslim world such as magic charms, reading tea leaves and casting spells. 

    This ruling was contained in the book, "Fataawi Islamiya."  Of which Shaikhs Bin Baz and Ibn Uthaymeen took part.

    For a more detailed discussion of this issue, you may refer to the lengthy discussion contained in the August 1996 issue of Al Hudaa magazine.