𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 (472)

The Ruling on Freemixing and the Refutation of the Claim that It Is Permissible Question: How should we respond to the claim that “freemixing between men and women exists outside the home when going out, and in Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām), etc., and therefore is not truly prohibited”? And to the argument of one who says: “The Prophet ﷺ only forbade khalwah or a certain type of freemixing under specific circumstances, since such contact may sometimes be unavoidable”? Sheikh Najeeb Ash-Shar’abi ḥafidhahullāh: This is a false claim, and whoever clings to it is in error. Freemixing is clearly and definitively prohibited by established textual evidence. I have mentioned the principal proofs in my treatise clarifying the prohibition of ikhtilāṭ, which may be referred to on the channel. The Muslim woman is commanded to remain within her home and forbidden from tabarruj and freemixing with men. If necessity requires her to go out, it must be ensured that there is no risk of fitnah. Allāh Almighty says: “And stay in your houses and do not display yourselves as in the times of ignorance of old.” [Sūrat al-Aḥzāb, 33:33] And the Prophet ﷺ said: “The woman is ‘awrah (something to be concealed); when she goes out, the devil looks upon her with (with anticipation or temptation).” [Reported by al-Tirmidhī, no. 1173, from the narration of Ibn Mas‘ūd, may Allāh be pleased with him] Ibn Khuzaymah (nos. 1685, 1686) and Ibn Ḥibbān (no. 5599) added: “And she is closest to her Lord’s face when she is in the depths of her home.” The noble Sharī‘ah has thus blocked all avenues leading to freemixing between the sexes in various contexts—something evident to anyone who reflects fairly. This includes even the rituals of ṭawāf and sa‘yi (the walking between Ṣafā and Marwah) during ḥajj and ‘umrah, despite the special circumstances of these acts of worship, characterised by the crowding and convergence of large numbers of people at the sacred sites at one time. Al-Bukhārī (no. 1618) narrated from Ibn Jurayj, who said: ‘Aṭā’ informed me—when Ibn Hishām had prohibited women from performing ṭawāf with men—so I asked, “How can he prevent them, when the wives of the Prophet ﷺ performed ṭawāf with men?” I said, “Was this after the Āyah of ḥijāb or before?” He said, “By my life (a phrase used for emphasis), I found it to be after ḥijāb.” I said, “How did they mix with the men?” He said, “They did not mix; ‘Ā’ishah (may Allāh be pleased with her) used to perform ṭawāf apart from the men, without mixing with them.” A woman said, “Come, O Mother of the Believers, let us touch the Black Stone.” She replied, “Keep away,” and refused. They used to go out at night, disguised, and perform ṭawāf with the men; but when they entered the Ka‘bah, they would stand aside until the men had left. I used to visit ‘Ā’ishah along with ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr while she was residing within the mountain of Thabīr. I asked, “What was her veil?” He said, “She was in a Turkish tent with a curtain; between us and her there was nothing but that. And I saw her wearing a red gown.”’ This narration is explicit in prohibiting mixing, and it shows that the Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them) regarded it as impermissible, for several reasons: 1. His statement: “Apart from the men, without mixing with them” — meaning, she was separate and apart from the men. In another version: “Ḥijzah” (with a zāy), meaning a partition between her and them. Al-Ḥāfidh Ibn Ḥajar said in Fatḥ Al-Bārī (vol. 3, p. 481): “This is the version of ‘Abdurrazzāq, who explained it at the end by saying: ‘Meaning, a barrier between her and the men by a cloth.’” 2. Her refusal to touch the Black Stone when that would have required mingling with men—she declined and abstained from doing so. 3. His statement: “She was in a Turkish tent with a curtain.” This indicates that she remained veiled and concealed from men.