The argument of those who permit free mixing of men and women, based on women praying with the Prophet
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Those who say that free mixing of men and women is permissible argue from the fact that women prayed with the men, or with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, and that there was no barrier or partition between them.
Answer:
What follows from the absence of a barrier is not what follows from free mixing. The women were in rows by themselves behind the men, with the men’s rows in front of them. This is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He would deliver the sermon on the festival day; the men would listen, and when he finished, he would go to the women and deliver a sermon to them. This is proof that they were not mixed with the men. This is a fallacy on the part of these people. A fallacy on their part. They pray with the Muslims, but they are separated from the men. It does not follow from that that one must build a wall or put up a barrier; that is not required. The important thing is that they are separated from the men, not standing next to a man or in the middle of the rows. They have their own rows. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 678Sahih (Al-Albani). This indicates that the women have rows other than the rows of the men.
The presenter:
Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Those who say that free mixing of men and women is permissible argue from the fact that women prayed with the men, or with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, and that there was no barrier or partition between them.
Answer:
What follows from the absence of a barrier is not what follows from free mixing. The women were in rows by themselves behind the men, with the men’s rows in front of them. This is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He would deliver the sermon on the festival day; the men would listen, and when he finished, he would go to the women and deliver a sermon to them. This is proof that they were not mixed with the men. This is a fallacy on the part of these people. A fallacy on their part. They pray with the Muslims, but they are separated from the men. It does not follow from that that one must build a wall or put up a barrier; that is not required. The important thing is that they are separated from the men, not standing next to a man or in the middle of the rows. They have their own rows. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
the best of the men’s row is the first and the worst of them is the last, but the best of the women’s rows is the last and the worst of them is the first.
خير صفوف الرجال أولها، وشرها آخرها، وخير صفوف النساء آخرها، وشرها أولهاThe presenter:
Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من باب كراهية النوم قبلها والسمر بعدها إلا في مصلحة — islamhouse.com (51:26)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.