Is it permissible to mix with non-mahram women if fitnah is averted and desire is suppressed, and likewise for teaching them?
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The Shaykh: Someone else, please.
The questioner: Our Shaykh, a brother from Sudan sent you his greetings. His name is Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Azhari. By the section of Allah, he greets you and asks for your prayers. That is one thing. He has several questions. In fact, I have answered some of them in a previous session. One question remains. He asks about the ruling on entering upon women. He says: Is that permissible if fitnah is averted and desire is suppressed? He means non-mahram women, of course? And likewise teaching.
The Shaykh: Whoever among our brothers who were leaning against the wall steps forward before the others, he has established a good sunnah. So strive to establish a good sunnah, for gathering in a circle of knowledge is part of the sunnah. In my opinion, if the speech was recorded by you with his pen or dictated to you by his voice, there is some looseness in the expression. Because when he mentioned entering upon women, he means mixing with women. "Entering upon women" has a known meaning, meaning he entered upon so-and-so, meaning he had relations with her. So he means mere sitting and mixing.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: This question is clear, but there is some looseness in the expression. After removing this doubt, repeat the question for me.
The questioner: He says: What is the ruling, in his expression, of course, in his handwriting, on entering upon women? And he means, of course, mixing. That is, is it permissible if fitnah is averted and desire is suppressed? He says, I mean women who are not mahram. And likewise teaching them?
The Shaykh: Likewise, what?
The questioner: Teaching women.
The Shaykh: You know.
The questioner: Teaching.
The Shaykh: Teaching.
The questioner: Education.
The Shaykh: Education. Yes. Anything that is conditioned, and that condition is suspect, the answer is that it is permissible. But how does he guarantee the realization of this condition? This cannot be realized except in a very narrow case, such as the one who wants to sit with women, mix with them, and teach them being like the old women among men. The old women are known in the Shari'ah by the text of the Noble Qur'an:[An-Nur 24:60], and yet, in the full verse: [An-Nur 24:60]. The old women are known in the Shari'ah to be those who do not desire men on one hand, and they do not desire men on the other hand. So for this type and this kind of women, Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) permitted them to remove some of their garments. The scholars of tafsir have differed since ancient times on what is intended by the garments mentioned in this verse. Most scholars hold that the intention is removing the jilbab. Some hold that the matter is broader than that, including even the khimar, meaning the head covering. This last opinion is what we hinted at in the past in my book "The Hijab of the Muslim Woman." Then I confirmed it in the new edition, which is about to be published, under a new title, "The Jilbab of the Muslim Woman," instead of "The Hijab of the Muslim Woman." There, we confirmed that the intention of the verse is not only the permission for the old women to remove their jilbabs, but also their khimars. And yet, as I said just now, He (Mighty and Majestic) said: [An-Nur 24:60]. So if the man who wants to enter, in the expression of your companion, upon women has reached this age such that he no longer feels the desire that a natural, healthy, strong man is not blamed for. He is not blamed if desire stirs in him, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created humans this way, women and men. And so our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), when He related to us the story of the wife of the Aziz, who is called Zulaikha in some books of tafsir, with Yusuf (peace be upon him), He said: [Yusuf 12:24]. He intended her, had it not been for, so he did not intend her, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) protected him because He made him a protected prophet. As for other than the prophets, they cannot, or no human being whatsoever can claim that he is protected from being affected by sitting with women and say: I am safe from desire, unless he has reached that age which was described in relation to women by the term "old women." So in short, this question, which is conditioned by that condition, its realization is very, very rare. And if you knowThe questioner : that I have not reached, for example, eighty years old, approximately, one year remaining, and I am still afraid for myself from women even at this hour.
The student: What Allah willed, there is no power except in Allah.
The Shaykh: In my opinion, he has not reached this age, is that not so?
The questioner: Relax, our Shaykh. Praise be to Allah. Our Shaykh is young.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner: Our Shaykh, a brother from Sudan sent you his greetings. His name is Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Azhari. By the section of Allah, he greets you and asks for your prayers. That is one thing. He has several questions. In fact, I have answered some of them in a previous session. One question remains. He asks about the ruling on entering upon women. He says: Is that permissible if fitnah is averted and desire is suppressed? He means non-mahram women, of course? And likewise teaching.
The Shaykh: Whoever among our brothers who were leaning against the wall steps forward before the others, he has established a good sunnah. So strive to establish a good sunnah, for gathering in a circle of knowledge is part of the sunnah. In my opinion, if the speech was recorded by you with his pen or dictated to you by his voice, there is some looseness in the expression. Because when he mentioned entering upon women, he means mixing with women. "Entering upon women" has a known meaning, meaning he entered upon so-and-so, meaning he had relations with her. So he means mere sitting and mixing.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: This question is clear, but there is some looseness in the expression. After removing this doubt, repeat the question for me.
The questioner: He says: What is the ruling, in his expression, of course, in his handwriting, on entering upon women? And he means, of course, mixing. That is, is it permissible if fitnah is averted and desire is suppressed? He says, I mean women who are not mahram. And likewise teaching them?
The Shaykh: Likewise, what?
The questioner: Teaching women.
The Shaykh: You know.
The questioner: Teaching.
The Shaykh: Teaching.
The questioner: Education.
The Shaykh: Education. Yes. Anything that is conditioned, and that condition is suspect, the answer is that it is permissible. But how does he guarantee the realization of this condition? This cannot be realized except in a very narrow case, such as the one who wants to sit with women, mix with them, and teach them being like the old women among men. The old women are known in the Shari'ah by the text of the Noble Qur'an:
there is no blame upon them for putting aside
فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِنَّ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ يَضَعْنَBut to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them
وَأَنْ يَسْتَعْفِفْنَ خَيْرٌ لَهُنَّBut to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them
وَأَنْ يَسْتَعْفِفْنَ خَيْرٌ لَهُنَّAnd she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord
وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلَا أَنْ رَأَى بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِThe student: What Allah willed, there is no power except in Allah.
The Shaykh: In my opinion, he has not reached this age, is that not so?
The questioner: Relax, our Shaykh. Praise be to Allah. Our Shaykh is young.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.