Is it permissible to refrain from visiting a sick person on the pretext of the fitnah of women?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : O esteemed Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, should I leave off visiting a sick person in the hospital if there is fitnah, especially since this patient will be discharged in a few days?
The Shaykh : What is the fitnah?
The questioner : Women, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Women?
The questioner : Clothed yet naked.
The Shaykh : Suppose you need a handful of legumes, and they are in the market, and the market is full of women and fitnah. Would you stay in your house saying, "I will not buy what the house needs because if I go out, I will find evil"?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : This is the same.
The questioner : He will be discharged, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : When will he be discharged? First of all, you do not know when he will be discharged.
The questioner : If it is a woman, and the mother will be discharged in two or three days.
The Shaykh : If there is no right between you, meaning she is not your sister, nor your aunt, nor your maternal aunt, nor your mother, then the matter is broad. But if she is a close relative to you, then not visiting her, or rather not visiting the sick person—for the sick person is said to be visited—this is a mistake, and it is not befitting for us to be severe with ourselves. Now, are there munkars on the plane or not?
Are there munkars? Should I say, "I will not go by plane because there are munkars"? No, my brother, go, and do not look at the munkar as much as you can, and lower your gaze. Do you understand the answer now or not?
The questioner : I understood.
The Shaykh : What is the fitnah?
The questioner : Women, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Women?
The questioner : Clothed yet naked.
The Shaykh : Suppose you need a handful of legumes, and they are in the market, and the market is full of women and fitnah. Would you stay in your house saying, "I will not buy what the house needs because if I go out, I will find evil"?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : This is the same.
The questioner : He will be discharged, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : When will he be discharged? First of all, you do not know when he will be discharged.
The questioner : If it is a woman, and the mother will be discharged in two or three days.
The Shaykh : If there is no right between you, meaning she is not your sister, nor your aunt, nor your maternal aunt, nor your mother, then the matter is broad. But if she is a close relative to you, then not visiting her, or rather not visiting the sick person—for the sick person is said to be visited—this is a mistake, and it is not befitting for us to be severe with ourselves. Now, are there munkars on the plane or not?
Are there munkars? Should I say, "I will not go by plane because there are munkars"? No, my brother, go, and do not look at the munkar as much as you can, and lower your gaze. Do you understand the answer now or not?
The questioner : I understood.