The ruling on praying in mixed rows of men and women due to crowding

Question : To proceed: The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on praying in rows mixed with men and women when the crowding is severe?

Answer : There is nothing wrong with women praying in front of men when there is tightness. But the problem that is greater than this is for a man to pray next to a woman. Especially if he is a young man and she is a young woman, for Satan stirs up between them. So we hold that if a man finds no place except next to a woman, he should move away and be in the last rows if possible.
As for a row that is separate for women, with a row of men behind it, the scholars have said that this does not prevent the men from following the imam if there are women between them and the imam. However, it is better for the women to be in the last of the people, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) because the last of them is farthest from the men.
And I advise the women to stay in their homes, for their prayer in their homes is better than their prayer in the mosque, whatever that mosque may be. For the Guide and Bringer of Good News (peace and blessings be upon him) said in Madinah that their homes are better for them. And we all know that prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque is better than a thousand prayers in any other mosque except the Sacred Mosque. So the woman in Madinah is better off praying in her home, and the woman in Makkah is better off praying in her home, especially with this severe crowding in which there may occur a trial whose consequences are not completed, yes.