We are in a school where lectures and celebrations are held, and we always begin with the Noble Qur'an. I may be asked to open for them with the Qur'an.
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The questioner : We are in a school where lectures and celebrations are held, and we always begin with the Noble Qur'an. I may be asked to open for them with the Qur'an, knowing that the recitation is done with a loudspeaker and there are a number of men present at the celebration or lecture. Is there sin in this? And if we recite the Qur'an, is a woman's voice an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?
The Shaykh : This question contains several questions.
First: Opening lectures and seminars with the Noble Qur'an, is this among the prescribed matters? I do not know of any Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would often gather his Companions when he intended to go on an expedition or for important matters concerning the Muslims, and I do not know that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would open these gatherings with anything from the Qur'an. However, if the lecture or seminar includes a specific topic, and someone wants to recite some verses related to this topic to serve as an opening for that topic, then there is nothing wrong with that. But making it a constant practice to open lectures and seminars with verses from the Qur'an, as if it were a prescribed Sunnah, this is not appropriate.
The second issue in this question is: A woman reciting the Qur'an with a loudspeaker so that people hear her from near and far, wherever the range of this loudspeaker reaches. This is not appropriate, because the woman is commanded to cover herself and hide from men, and her announcing her voice with a loudspeaker contradicts that.
And the third issue in the question is: Is a woman's voice an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?
The answer is: A woman's voice is not an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered). The women used to come to the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) to ask him questions in the presence of men, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disapprove of that from them. If her voice had been an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) would have disapproved of it. So a woman's voice is not an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), but it is not permissible for a man to take pleasure in it, whether that pleasure is sexual desire or pleasure and mental comfort. Rather, he should listen to her only to the extent that need requires, if she is a non-mahram (a relative one may not marry) to him.
The Shaykh : This question contains several questions.
First: Opening lectures and seminars with the Noble Qur'an, is this among the prescribed matters? I do not know of any Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would often gather his Companions when he intended to go on an expedition or for important matters concerning the Muslims, and I do not know that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would open these gatherings with anything from the Qur'an. However, if the lecture or seminar includes a specific topic, and someone wants to recite some verses related to this topic to serve as an opening for that topic, then there is nothing wrong with that. But making it a constant practice to open lectures and seminars with verses from the Qur'an, as if it were a prescribed Sunnah, this is not appropriate.
The second issue in this question is: A woman reciting the Qur'an with a loudspeaker so that people hear her from near and far, wherever the range of this loudspeaker reaches. This is not appropriate, because the woman is commanded to cover herself and hide from men, and her announcing her voice with a loudspeaker contradicts that.
And the third issue in the question is: Is a woman's voice an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?
The answer is: A woman's voice is not an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered). The women used to come to the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) to ask him questions in the presence of men, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disapprove of that from them. If her voice had been an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) would have disapproved of it. So a woman's voice is not an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered), but it is not permissible for a man to take pleasure in it, whether that pleasure is sexual desire or pleasure and mental comfort. Rather, he should listen to her only to the extent that need requires, if she is a non-mahram (a relative one may not marry) to him.