What is the ruling on teaching and learning in co-educational schools?

Al-Halabi : What is the ruling on teaching and learning in co-educational schools? If it is forbidden, what is the ruling on the one who earns a teaching wage in these schools? And does the absence of non-co-educational schools constitute a legal excuse for entering them?

The Shaykh : The answer: He (peace be upon him) said: One might ask, what is the connection between this hadith and the question? The connection is clear. His statement (peace be upon him): This is because selling it leads to consuming it, so by way of blocking the means to harm, what is forbidden to consume is forbidden to sell. Therefore, an example of the meaning of this hadith is the famous hadith: ; and so on. Why were the nine cursed? So that the first one, the drinker, would not be [cursed alone]. Thus, there is a connection between the goal and the means. If the mixing of the two sexes is forbidden—and it is—then anything that results from it is forbidden, especially if this resulting matter is not an individual obligation in itself, but rather a collective obligation. It is strange that some people today are lenient, seeking to smooth over and facilitate reality among Muslims, even if it contradicts the Shari'ah, in the name of knowledge. We say that knowledge is of two kinds: beneficial knowledge and harmful knowledge. There is no doubt that beneficial knowledge cannot be beneficial unless it is, in itself, in accordance with the Shari'ah. Knowledge is not desirable or acceptable in the Shari'ah unless it is in accordance with the Shari'ah and not contrary to it. The conformity must be in terms of the knowledge itself and in terms of the method by which that knowledge is attained. If one of these two conditions is lacking, it is not prescribed. So, if I said earlier that I am surprised by people who are lenient and issue rulings permitting the mixing of the two sexes in universities in the pursuit of knowledge, I say that this knowledge, first, is not an individual obligation; it is not religious knowledge. Second, if it were religious knowledge—for example, a Faculty of Shari'ah in some universities—we do not want to be deceived by names and signs, but we must look into the content of this title. What does the Faculty of Shari'ah do? It is supposed to teach the Shari'ah truly. The purpose of this knowledge is action, as mentioned earlier. If religious knowledge itself is taught through the method of mixing the two sexes, then this is not religious knowledge. We all know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged Muslims in general to perform the five prayers in the mosques. There is no doubt that women are included in this general text, namely congregational prayer, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Does this include women? Is this the first time you are hearing it? I think so. Do women fall under this hadith? What comes to the minds of many people from his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): is that if women pray in the mosques, they do not have that virtue which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the first hadith: . For whom? For men, or for men and women? We say yes, for men and women, but even so, their homes are better for them. If a woman prays in the mosque, of course, the conditions apply: she must be covered with the Shari'ah-prescribed outer garment, not wearing perfume or scent, and so on. If she prays in the mosque, she has the same reward as men. But if she wants a greater reward, let her pray in her home, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This resolves a problem that we have mentioned more than once. When women perform Hajj or 'Umrah, they compete with men in the two mosques, in the two Holy Sanctuaries in Makkah and al-Madinah. What drives them to do this? Their ignorance of the previous meaning. They think that praying in al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Masjid al-Nabawi is better for them than praying in their homes and residences where they have stayed. That is not the case. If a prayer in al-Masjid al-Haram is worth a hundred thousand prayers, then if a woman prays in her home, her prayer is worth a hundred thousand plus one or more. Similarly, if a woman prays in al-Masjid al-Nabawi, her prayer is worth a thousand, but if she prays an obligatory prayer in her home, her prayer in her home is worth a thousand plus one or more, as Allah wills. If this is the case in the mosques, and as we know from authentic hadiths, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the best and worst places, what did he answer? If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) encourages women to pray in their homes by saying: .