If there is a fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) from women going out to the prayer place, should they refrain from going out?
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The questioner : If there is a fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) from women going out to the prayer place, should they refrain from going out?
The Shaykh : No, they are ordered to go out, and they should avoid what leads to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Yes, if we suppose—and we ask Allah not to bring that about—if there are open sinners who harass women and it is not possible to escape from them, then we may say that she stays in her house, because there are open sinners who, for example, snatch women. But as for merely having open sinners who follow women with their gaze or the like, that does not prevent it. It is said: the woman goes out without perfume and without displaying her adornment, and Allah will protect her from evil.
The Shaykh : No, they are ordered to go out, and they should avoid what leads to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Yes, if we suppose—and we ask Allah not to bring that about—if there are open sinners who harass women and it is not possible to escape from them, then we may say that she stays in her house, because there are open sinners who, for example, snatch women. But as for merely having open sinners who follow women with their gaze or the like, that does not prevent it. It is said: the woman goes out without perfume and without displaying her adornment, and Allah will protect her from evil.