Therefore, we say, if the foundation of this university that is based on disobedience to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, was not established, what would befall t

And as you all know, if a Masjid Dhirar [see Surah Tawbah: 108] were to be established, it would not be permissible to remain nor pray therein, while it is a Masjid whose purpose is for the worship of Allah alone, without any partners. However, alongside that, it was established to cause harm, so due to this intent it becomes impermissible. So it has to be demolished from its very foundation. Therefore this university which is founded upon impermissible free-mixing, what benefit in terms of knowledge does it have to offer to the Muslim youth? I don't believe that this is the way to acquire knowledge, and when we say this, we are not forgetting the fact that Islam commands Muslims to learn every useful science; and this is not confined to Islamic sciences, but rather every science including physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc., which Muslims can benefit from and establish their livelihood. This is a communal obligation, but in order to achieve a communal obligation it is not permissible for a Muslim to expose himself to violating the Shari’ah. Here we are reminded of many of the issues which the Muslim youth, both male and female, fall into. We say for example, now that the field of medicine has advanced and consists of many specialisations in various aspects and that women (patients) require female doctors; which is a fact that no one is ignorant of, and that it is not permissible Islamically for a Muslim woman to expose her body to a male doctor due to an illness, therefore we must have Muslim female doctors. But how do we achieve this? On the basis of 'the end justifies the means' some people are of the view that we should allow our daughters, sisters and womenfolk to enter these mixed universities in order to acquire this knowledge because it is a communal obligation that is binding. We say: No! Because this mixing exposes our girls and women to temptation, especially if the type of medicine (study) requires the woman to come face to face with the male teacher...She exposes herself to temptation and thus problems arise, as you must have all heard a lot or a little about. Therefore, we say that whoever is a Muslim and is jealous of his honor and his womenfolk, it is not permissible for him to present his daughter or sister, let alone his wife, in order to pursue this communal obligation, and as mentioned in the saying of old: لكل ساقطة في الحي لاقطة 'Every fallen-woman in the neighborhood has someone to pick her up' I don't believe that Muslims are all on the same level in terms of their concern for Islamic rulings, so there must be a group of young men and women who are unconcerned with what is Halaal and what is Haraam, especially if they find some statements legalising what others have said to be impermissible. It is this group who will be the scapegoat. So we must not make our women the scapegoat, and we must not make a scapegoat of ourselves in order to obtain that knowledge which is a communal obligation and not an individual obligation; because it is not permissible to pursue a communal obligation by committing something that is obligatory -on an individual basis- to avoid, i.e. Haraam matters. It is an obligation to avoid Haraam, so it is not permissible to commit Haraam in order to achieve what? A communal obligation. This is the answer to what you asked. Yes. [Silsilah Al-Huda wan Nur, Cassette (441)] | Translated by Mardadi