I love reading the chapters of the Qur'an, I love prayer, I love the man who prays, and I always listen to the chapters of the Qur'an, and I do not pray knowing that the reason
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The questioner : I love reading the chapters of the Qur'an, I love prayer, I love the man who prays, and I always listen to the chapters of the Qur'an, and I do not pray knowing that the reason I do not pray is that I am in a co-educational school. What is obligatory for me to do? Also, I said and I swore a vow that I would fast and pray when I pass the sixth grade. Is this vow permissible regarding prayer and fasting? We ask you for guidance?
The Shaykh : This is a strange question. It is a witness from reality to the corruption of co-educational schools and that they are evil and a trial, and it is evidence from reality that it is obligatory for those who have made their schools co-educational to distinguish women's schools from men's schools, so that they may, indeed, be safe from this great trial that has caused a young man like this to go astray in his religion to the extent that he does not pray. And through this strange story, the danger lurking in schools where men and women mix becomes clear, and the wisdom of the Shari'ah in the obligation of separating men and women in study, as well as in work, becomes clear. It is established in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining to him that the men had overwhelmed her and the other women in their access to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as they mixed with him frequently and took from his knowledge. She requested from him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he come to them to teach them from what Allah had taught him. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) promised them a time in the house of one of them. He came to them and taught them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say, "Come with the men to learn what the men learn," but rather he (peace and blessings be upon him) promised them a day in a specific place to teach them from what Allah had taught him. And when the women used to attend prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was necessary for them to attend the mosque if they wanted to pray in congregation, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 678Sahih (Al-Albani) All of this is an encouragement from him (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) for the woman to keep her distance from the man, and it indicates that the nearness of the woman to the man is evil, as he said: .
So it is obligatory for the Muslims to adopt this great guidance, by which is the mercy of creation, their rectification, their happiness, and their success, as Allah the Exalted said, clarifying the wisdom in the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):[Al-Anbya 21:107] If the Shari'ah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a mercy for the worlds, then it is a cause that necessitates mercy if the Muslims hold fast to it.
So my advice to those who have made their schools co-educational between men and women is that they repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic from that, and that they distinguish between men's schools and women's schools and separate them, so that the school that teaches the mixed [curriculum] is exclusively for women, and the teacher who teaches the mixed [curriculum] is exclusively for men. We ask Allah the Exalted to bestow upon the Muslims what the Shari'ah of their Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) necessitates in terms of proper conduct, morals, acts of worship, transactions, and sound beliefs.
As for the answer to his question, the best is for a person to worship Allah the Mighty and Majestic without a vow. But it seems that this man, who loved those who pray and listens to the Qur'an, was so filled with compassion and eagerness to repent to Allah and to fulfill what Allah has made obligatory upon him of prayer that this eagerness led him to vow and swear that if he graduates from the sixth grade, he will pray. Otherwise, the best is that a person should not swear or vow to perform an act of obedience, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nur 24:53] So Allah the Mighty and Majestic forbade a person from swearing to perform an act of obedience; rather, he should obey his Lord with known obedience, with complete submission, without swearing or vowing. And I ask Allah for this questioner that He make him firm and increase him in His grace and guidance.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is a strange question. It is a witness from reality to the corruption of co-educational schools and that they are evil and a trial, and it is evidence from reality that it is obligatory for those who have made their schools co-educational to distinguish women's schools from men's schools, so that they may, indeed, be safe from this great trial that has caused a young man like this to go astray in his religion to the extent that he does not pray. And through this strange story, the danger lurking in schools where men and women mix becomes clear, and the wisdom of the Shari'ah in the obligation of separating men and women in study, as well as in work, becomes clear. It is established in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining to him that the men had overwhelmed her and the other women in their access to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as they mixed with him frequently and took from his knowledge. She requested from him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he come to them to teach them from what Allah had taught him. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) promised them a time in the house of one of them. He came to them and taught them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say, "Come with the men to learn what the men learn," but rather he (peace and blessings be upon him) promised them a day in a specific place to teach them from what Allah had taught him. And when the women used to attend prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was necessary for them to attend the mosque if they wanted to pray in congregation, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
the best of the women’s rows is the last and the worst of them is the first
خير صفوف النساء ءاخرها وشرها أولهاand the worst of them are the last of them
وشرها ءاخرهاSo it is obligatory for the Muslims to adopt this great guidance, by which is the mercy of creation, their rectification, their happiness, and their success, as Allah the Exalted said, clarifying the wisdom in the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَSo my advice to those who have made their schools co-educational between men and women is that they repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic from that, and that they distinguish between men's schools and women's schools and separate them, so that the school that teaches the mixed [curriculum] is exclusively for women, and the teacher who teaches the mixed [curriculum] is exclusively for men. We ask Allah the Exalted to bestow upon the Muslims what the Shari'ah of their Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) necessitates in terms of proper conduct, morals, acts of worship, transactions, and sound beliefs.
As for the answer to his question, the best is for a person to worship Allah the Mighty and Majestic without a vow. But it seems that this man, who loved those who pray and listens to the Qur'an, was so filled with compassion and eagerness to repent to Allah and to fulfill what Allah has made obligatory upon him of prayer that this eagerness led him to vow and swear that if he graduates from the sixth grade, he will pray. Otherwise, the best is that a person should not swear or vow to perform an act of obedience, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if you ordered them, they would go forth [in Allah 's cause]. Say, "Do not swear. [Such] obedience is known. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with that which you do."
وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ قُلْ لا تُقْسِمُوا طَاعَةٌ مَعْرُوفَةٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh.