She says in her letter that I am a student in a boys' preparatory school, and I am with a small number of students. You know that we mix with them and talk to them. Is this forbidden or...
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : We received a letter from Iraq from listener A.L. She says in her letter that I am a student in a boys' preparatory school, and I am with a small number of students. You know that we mix with them and talk to them. Is this forbidden or permissible?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this has a great danger, and it usually happens without hijab. It is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face and hands to non-mahrams, meaning those who are not her close relatives, neither in school nor elsewhere. Therefore, it is obligatory for the ministers of education in Islamic countries; they must establish separate schools for boys and for girls so that there is a distinction between the two sexes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they should stay away from doubtful matters and from trials, because this is one of the great trials. How many harms have occurred because of this mixing! So, O sister, you must be modest in the prescribed manner by fully veiling yourself from these people, and you should not sit next to a boy. You and your female classmates should be in one side of the room, being modest. By this, the harm will be lessened and the trial will be reduced. And although it is obligatory for the rulers, as we said, to establish a place for males and a place for females.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that this has a great danger, and it usually happens without hijab. It is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face and hands to non-mahrams, meaning those who are not her close relatives, neither in school nor elsewhere. Therefore, it is obligatory for the ministers of education in Islamic countries; they must establish separate schools for boys and for girls so that there is a distinction between the two sexes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they should stay away from doubtful matters and from trials, because this is one of the great trials. How many harms have occurred because of this mixing! So, O sister, you must be modest in the prescribed manner by fully veiling yourself from these people, and you should not sit next to a boy. You and your female classmates should be in one side of the room, being modest. By this, the harm will be lessened and the trial will be reduced. And although it is obligatory for the rulers, as we said, to establish a place for males and a place for females.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.