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Unlawful Intermingling of Men and Women
Shaykh Usamah Al Khayyat
[(Jumaadal Ulaa 2, 1423 (July 12, 2002)]
All praise is due to Allaah,
Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the
Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Having being deluded by the beauties of
this worldly life, its adornments and pastime; and having being carried
away by the passions for it, many people have forgotten the
favour that
Allaah bestowed on them, the greatest of which is this religion and the
noble injunctions that are inherent in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah
of His Messenger which are meant for the good of mankind in this world and
the Hereafter.
Among the qualities of this
religion is abundance of texts and injunctions that explain how to
prevent corruption and causes of evil and therefore close means that lead
to calamities. The Islaamic Law also contains principles through which
truth and virtues can be protected.
Brethren in faith! The
underlying reasons for blocking the means that lead to evil reflect on all
matters that relate to Muslim belief, acts of worship, etiquettes of
relating with others and so on. However, the most vivid of these
principles is the limitation set by Allaah for the Muslim woman, that
distinguishes her and gives her unique identity, purity, soundness of
conduct and perfect womanhood.
Foremost among things that
Islaam makes obligatory for believing women is hijaab and
prohibition of mixing with men who are neither their husbands nor their
unmarriageable relatives. Each of these two ordainments complements one
other. It is mandatory for a Muslim woman to surrender to the obligation
of wearing a complete hijaab that preserves her chastity, purity
and modest and wards off harm in accordance with the injunctions of Allaah,
"O Prophet! Tell your
wives and your daughters and women of the believers to draw their cloaks
(veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be
known (as free and respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah
is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
(Al-Ahzaab 33:59)
Allaah also addresses the Muslims concerning mothers of
believers who are the most pious of all women and the farthest from sins,
by virtue of their being honoured
to be wives of the Prophet and because of the Signs of Allaah and the
wisdom that were recited in their homes,
"And when you ask them
(the Prophet's wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a
screen; that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts."
(Al-Ahzaab 33:53)
It is equally obligatory on her to accept the
prohibition of intermingling with men who are not her husband or
unmarriageable relatives. There are abundance proofs to this effect. Among
these is the saying of the Messenger of Allaah, "No man will be alone with
a woman except that Satan becomes their third." (Ahmad) This hadeeth
though came in form of information from the Messenger of Allaah, it
nevertheless entails clear prohibition of intermingling of men and women
who are legally strange to each other with an explanation of the reason
for that.
In another hadeeth,
the Prophet said, "Do not enter upon women." A man among the Ansaar
said, "What about the husband's male relatives?" The Prophet answered,
"The husband's male relatives are death." Which means: the severity of the
harm that might be caused by entering upon the woman is like death. This
hadeeth is also a clear prohibition of unlawful intermingling of
men with women who are legally strange to each other.
Brethren in faith! These two
prohibitions come from the Prophet who did not speak out of his own desire
but of what was revealed to him. Is it then proper for a Muslim to give
preference to the saying of others besides him while he is the passionate,
sincere counselor and merciful to his ummah? Allaah says about him
in the Qur'aan,
"There has come to you a
Messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive
any injury and or difficulty. He is anxious over you (to be rightly
guided), for the believers, he is full of pity, kind and merciful."
(At-Tawbah 9:128)
Is it befitting for you to
go against his words in disregard to the warning of Allaah,
"And let those who oppose
the Messenger's commandments beware lest some calamity should befall them
or a painful torment be inflicted on them."?
(An-Noor 24:63)
Fellow Muslims! The Prophet described the rows of men
and women in congregational prayers saying, "The best of the men's rows is
the first and the worst of their rows is the last; and the best of the
women's rows is the last row and the worst of their rows is the first."
(Muslim) Let us ask ourselves this question: Why did the Prophet so
describe the row of men and women? Was it not to strongly affirm the
obligation of making partition between them and keeping them from each
other as far as possible? If this legislation could be made for male and
female believers while they congregate to worship their Lord in the
mosques which are described in the Qur'aan as:
"Houses which Allaah has ordered to be raised (to be
cleansed and honoured)
and in which He has commanded that His Name be remembered. Therein
glorify Him in the mornings and evenings, men whom neither a trade nor a
sale (business) diverts from the remembrance of Allaah or from performing
prayers, or from giving Zakaah. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will
be overturned (out of the horror of the torment of the Day of
Resurrection)."
(An-Noor 24: 36-37)
Dear brethren! If
intermingling of the two opposite sexes could be prohibited in such a
situation and such a place, it should then be prohibited –with greater
force– in other meeting places where both good and evil men gather. Don’t
the Muslims have greater reasons to abide by this prophetic injunction,
given the presence of the need to do so and the absence of any hindrance?
If the first audience to be addressed by these authentic and clear
Prophetic sayings was regarded as the best generation of this ummah
as attested to by the Messenger of Allaah, is it then logical to claim
that the later generations have no need to follow the commandments and
prohibitions inherent in these sayings?! It is a matter of fact that, the
latter generations are in greater need of abiding by these injunctions
especially in these contemporary days when evil has prevailed, spread and
posses a greater risk.
If people could respect
every regulation which they regard as useful, with which they could avert
evil and in whose restrictions they see no inconvenience, though it
deprives them some freedom and which they could be punished for its
violation; how then can the one who believes in Allaah and His Messenger
regard Divine ordainments as unnecessary restrictions that should be
canceled and discarded of, though they are made for the benefit of mankind
and to remove or reduce corruptions.
Brethren in faith! It is improper for one who believes
in Allaah and His Prophet to wade into issues of commandments and
prohibitions with mere personal view with no proof or to follow
presumptions and desires. Such issues should be treated only by those who
have deep knowledge of the religion and its ordainments, and are sincere,
pious and free from whimsical desires and inclinations that keep one away
from the truth. Let him who wants to wade into religious matters know that
consequences of the tongue and pen slips are the most grievous as
explained by the Messenger of Allaah when Mu'aadh asked him, "Are we going
to be held responsible for that which we utter?" The Prophet said, "May
your mother be bereaved of you,
O Mu'aadh! Are people going to be cast into Hell on their faces or their
noses by anything other than the consequences of their tongues?"
(Ahmad) Allaah says,
"And say not that of
which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight and the
heart; on each of these one will be questioned (by Allaah)."
(Al-Israa 17:36)
Fellow Muslims! What Allaah
ordains in His Book and the Prophet in his Sunnah concerning the
obligation of hijaab and prohibition of intermingling of both sexes
are not peculiar to a particular time, place or individual. They affect
all people of all generations and all places; for the One Who ordains them
is the Creator of all times and places and He is the Creator of man as
well. He knows His creation very well; He is Wise in His control of their
affairs and He is deemed far above toying with His decisions, judgments,
commandments and prohibitions. No belief in Him will be complete without
surrendering to His judgments, and following His injunctions submissively
and without any feeling of inconvenience or doubt.
Brethren in faith! Be among
the followers of the Qur'aan and Sunnah and hold fast onto them; and
beware, lest erroneous ways mislead you from the path of your Lord.
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