A woman's voice is not an 'awrah
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We have heard women's voices asking questions on the fatwa program broadcast on the radio, but this is the first time a woman's voice has appeared on the Qur'an Radio. We know that you, may Allah preserve you, are among those who strive for what is good, and praise be to Allah for that. We want you to clarify for us, and for anyone who may be confused about this matter, whether a woman's voice is an 'awrah, and what is the ruling on broadcasting it after it has been recorded. You may consider it better to return to the previous method of submitting questions through the program's host.The answer to this is that I say: A woman's voice is not an 'awrah, by the explicit text of the Qur'an. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said to the mothers of the believers,The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): [Al-Ahzab: 32] So His saying: "Do not be soft in speech" is permission to speak with men, and there is no harm in a man hearing a woman's voice, but without softness. Likewise, the women in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would come to the Messenger (peace be upon him) in his gathering. A woman would come to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his gathering and ask him, while the men were present. So there is no harm in a man hearing a woman's voice.
But the question remains: do those who listen to the woman's voice take pleasure in this voice or enjoy it? The one responsible is the man who takes pleasure in women's voices or enjoys them. As for the woman's voice in itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Moreover, most of the women who ask questions on this program ask about jurisprudential issues, or about the interpretation of a verse, or something similar. It is something that has no connection to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Otherwise, we are, if Allah wills, among the most eager people to avoid what leads to fitnah.
And as for the questioner's saying: As it was before? I do not know that it was before. Perhaps he is referring to "Nur 'ala al-Darb" (Light on the Path). "Nur 'ala al-Darb" is written on papers. Letters come to the radio station and are presented to the scholars, and there is no need for us to say: that the woman is heard by the host, and then the host conveys her question to us. Because this leads to taking up more time, and the number of questions in this program decreases. The program was originally intended to be only ten minutes, so we asked them to make it a third of an hour, because it is more spacious for people. Today they called us and said that they have made it a third of an hour. It is broadcast at five o'clock minus a third of an hour after 'Asr, every Monday and every Wednesday, and its broadcast in Ramadan will be every day at iftar.
then do not be soft in speech [to men], lest he in whose heart is disease should covet
فَلا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌBut the question remains: do those who listen to the woman's voice take pleasure in this voice or enjoy it? The one responsible is the man who takes pleasure in women's voices or enjoys them. As for the woman's voice in itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Moreover, most of the women who ask questions on this program ask about jurisprudential issues, or about the interpretation of a verse, or something similar. It is something that has no connection to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Otherwise, we are, if Allah wills, among the most eager people to avoid what leads to fitnah.
And as for the questioner's saying: As it was before? I do not know that it was before. Perhaps he is referring to "Nur 'ala al-Darb" (Light on the Path). "Nur 'ala al-Darb" is written on papers. Letters come to the radio station and are presented to the scholars, and there is no need for us to say: that the woman is heard by the host, and then the host conveys her question to us. Because this leads to taking up more time, and the number of questions in this program decreases. The program was originally intended to be only ten minutes, so we asked them to make it a third of an hour, because it is more spacious for people. Today they called us and said that they have made it a third of an hour. It is broadcast at five o'clock minus a third of an hour after 'Asr, every Monday and every Wednesday, and its broadcast in Ramadan will be every day at iftar.