Congregational Prayer and Its Virtue
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 1|Book 1|Chapter 57
وَ سَأَلَ هِشَامُ بْنُ سَالِمٍ أَبَا عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ: عَنِ اَلْمَرْأَةِ هَلْ تَؤُمُّ اَلنِّسَاءَ قَالَ «تَؤُمُّهُنَّ فِي اَلنَّافِلَةِ فَأَمَّا فِي اَلْمَكْتُوبَةِ فَلاَ وَ لاَ تَتَقَدَّمُهُنَّ وَ لَكِنْ تَقُومُ وَسَطَهُنَّ.
Hisham ibn Salim asked Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq عليه السلام about whether a woman can lead other women in prayer. Imam عليه السلام said: "She may lead them in the nafl (supererogatory) prayers, but not in the obligatory (fardh) prayers. Moreover, She should not stand in front of them; rather, She should stand in their midst."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh, p. 57