I am an 18-year-old girl who wears the hijab and maintains my prayers, praise be to Allah, but I want to ask about the hijab because I know that a girl who wears the hijab is forbidden from being seen by a man or a young man while she is uncovered, and the matter is that I was once at home without my hijab and my brother-in-law (my brother’s wife’s brother), who is a young man, entered, and I did not know he had entered and did not intend it, so I greeted him and then went in and covered myself because he extended his hand to me and I did not know what to do, and I have been exposed to this several times but without intention, so is there a sin on me for this? Also, I want to ask you what I should do if a young man enters a women’s gathering, i.e., a wedding, and of course I would be without my hijab in a gathering of women. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
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The questioner : I am an 18-year-old girl who wears the hijab and maintains my prayers, praise be to Allah, but I want to ask about the hijab because I know that a girl who wears the hijab is forbidden from being seen by a man or a young man while she is uncovered, and the matter is that I was once at home without my hijab and my brother-in-law (my brother’s wife’s brother), who is a young man, entered, and I did not know he had entered and did not intend it, so I greeted him and then went in and covered myself because he extended his hand to me and I did not know what to do, and I have been exposed to this several times but without intention, so is there a sin on me for this? Also, I want to ask you what I should do if a young man enters a women’s gathering, i.e., a wedding, and of course I would be without my hijab in a gathering of women. Please advise us, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : Your brother’s wife’s brother is not a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to you, and it is not permissible for him to enter your house when no one is with you, for this is a forbidden seclusion. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon, saying:Sahih Muslim 1341a And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1171Sahih (Darussalam) They said: O Messenger of Allah! What about the in-laws? He said: And in-laws are the relatives of the spouse. I advise this man and warn him against entering upon a woman when no mahram is present with her.
And if he enters without your knowledge, the sin is on him, but it is obligatory for you to tell him to go out until my husband comes, and it is not permissible for you to greet him and shake his hand, for a woman shaking hands with someone who is not one of her mahrams is forbidden. And unfortunately, I mean the shaking of hands by women with those who are not their mahrams, many people have become accustomed to it and are lax about it, and this is forbidden for them. There is no blame on the woman if a man extends his hand to her to shake it and he is not a mahram; there is no blame on her if she tells him that this is forbidden, for this is clarifying the truth and clarifying the Shari'ah. And there is no blame on the man if a woman extends her hand to him to shake it and he is not one of her mahrams, if he says that this is forbidden; indeed, this is clarifying the truth, and clarifying the truth is obligatory, especially when people are doing what is contrary to the truth, for then its clarification becomes enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Therefore, I advise you and warn you against returning to such a thing, i.e., allowing him to enter upon you without the presence of a mahram for you, or allowing him to shake your hand when you are not a mahram for him. There is no difference in shaking hands whether it is through a barrier or directly; all of it is forbidden. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener al-Nur from Sudan says: O Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Your brother’s wife’s brother is not a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to you, and it is not permissible for him to enter your house when no one is with you, for this is a forbidden seclusion. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon, saying:
No person should be alone with a woman except when there is a Mahram with her
لا يخلون رجل بامرأة إلا ومعها ذو محرمBeware of entering upon women.
إياكم والدخول على النساءThe relative is death
الحمو الموتAnd if he enters without your knowledge, the sin is on him, but it is obligatory for you to tell him to go out until my husband comes, and it is not permissible for you to greet him and shake his hand, for a woman shaking hands with someone who is not one of her mahrams is forbidden. And unfortunately, I mean the shaking of hands by women with those who are not their mahrams, many people have become accustomed to it and are lax about it, and this is forbidden for them. There is no blame on the woman if a man extends his hand to her to shake it and he is not a mahram; there is no blame on her if she tells him that this is forbidden, for this is clarifying the truth and clarifying the Shari'ah. And there is no blame on the man if a woman extends her hand to him to shake it and he is not one of her mahrams, if he says that this is forbidden; indeed, this is clarifying the truth, and clarifying the truth is obligatory, especially when people are doing what is contrary to the truth, for then its clarification becomes enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Therefore, I advise you and warn you against returning to such a thing, i.e., allowing him to enter upon you without the presence of a mahram for you, or allowing him to shake your hand when you are not a mahram for him. There is no difference in shaking hands whether it is through a barrier or directly; all of it is forbidden. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener al-Nur from Sudan says: O Shaykh Muhammad.