Is a woman's voice an awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?

Question:
This questioner says: I read in one of the imported magazines a fatwa regarding whether a woman's voice is an awrah (part of the body that must be covered) or not. The mufti (a scholar who issues fatwas) answered that a woman's voice is not an awrah (part of the body that must be covered). We know of the speech of women, and the speech of the female Companions to the Companions, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to be silent, nor did any of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. This is the end of his statement. If a woman's voice is an awrah (part of the body that must be covered), and she sins if she speaks to men, what should a student in a college do if the teacher is a man and she has to answer his question, or if she might ask him a question? Is that forbidden?

Answer:
The statement is as this mufti (a scholar who issues fatwas) said: a woman's voice is not absolutely an awrah (part of the body that must be covered); her voice is not an awrah (part of the body that must be covered). So she may ask, and the one asked must answer. In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would answer them, peace and blessings be upon him. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: The Qur'an explicitly states [Al-Mujadilah: 1]. Likewise, they used to ask the Companions, and they used to ask those after the Companions, and this is a known matter.
However, the awrah (part of the body that must be covered) in this regard is what is accompanied by coquetry and submission; this is what is prohibited. Thus, Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: [Al-Ahzab: 32]. So He forbade them from submission so that those who have desires and sickness in their hearts, the corrupters, would not have hope in them. He ordered them to say a known, moderate statement, one that contains no submission, no obscenity, and no ugliness, but is moderate. So she should not speak with harshness or bad speech, nor with soft speech that contains submission, coquetry, and affectation. No, but between that: ordinary, moderate speech between the two extremes. No obscene speech, no ugly speech, no speech containing harshness and violence, and no soft, adorned, submissive speech. Not this, and not that. This is the truth that the people of knowledge have stated.