I have a problem that is causing me to think a great deal and is making me frustrated. Approximately two months ago, I was able to do well in my exams to become a secondary school teacher, and now I am studying in a school that prepares teachers who specialise in English. I am studying in a mixed class composed of fifteen male students and fifteen female students. After that I will be appointed to teach in one of the secondary schools in my country. This secondary school is also mixed. What frustrates me in fact is that I know that mixing is forbidden, and that men are commanded to lower their gaze. But I tell myself that our country is not like other Muslim countries; moreover people who are religiously committed and righteous have to compete to attain these positions so as to bar the way to those who promote innovation and sin. Now I do not know whether I will be rewarded for what I am doing, or whether the Shaytaan is making this action fair-seeming to me and making me think that I am keen to spread the da‘wah and benefit the Muslims by guiding them to correct belief and the sound path. I am convinced that it is not permissible for a non-mahram man to teach women without a barrier, but isn’t my work necessary, because the secularists, Sufis and others are in control of most fields in our country?
Praise
be to Allah
One of the problems with which many Muslims are faced
nowadays is the prevalence of free mixing in universities, hospitals,
most public facilities and government workplaces.
We have previously explained the prohibition on free mixing
and the negative consequences that result from it, in the answer to question
no. 1200, where we stated that it is obligatory for
the Muslim to avoid studying and working in mixed environments.
But in the countries where the people are faced with the
problem of mixing in most fields of life, especially educational centres and
workplaces, to the extent that it has become extremely difficult for the
Muslim to protect himself from that, a concession is granted to them that is
not granted to others whom Allah has protected from such problems.
This concession is based on the fiqhi principle that
“whatever is prohibited so as to bar the means that may lead to evil may be
permitted in cases of necessity and where doing so serves a greater
interest.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:
All Islamic rulings are based on the principle that with
regard to some evil that is prohibited, if there is an urgent need that
outweighs, it makes that which is ordinarily prohibited permissible.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (29/49).
And he said:
With regard to that which comes under the heading of barring
the means (that lead to something prohibited), it is only to be prohibited
if there is no need for it. But if there is a need for it in order to
achieve a purpose that cannot be achieved otherwise, then it is not to be
prohibited.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (23/214)
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
That which is prohibited so as to bar the means (that lead to
something prohibited) may be permitted if there is a clear interest to be
served, or example: … naafil prayers that are offered for a specific reason
are permissible after Fajr and ‘Asr (when naafil prayers that are not done
for a specific reason are not allowed, until after sunrise and sunset
respectively); it is permissible for one who wants to propose marriage, one
who is giving testimony, a doctor and one who is party to a transaction,
buying or selling, to look at a woman’s face in a manner that is ordinarily
prohibited; and the prohibition on gold and silk for men is a prohibition
that serves to bar the means that may lead to men imitating women, for which
the one who does that is cursed, but it is permitted in cases of necessity.
End quote from I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een (2/161)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
With regard to that which is prohibited in the sense of
prohibiting the means (that may lead to something prohibited), it may be
permitted in the case of necessity.
End quote from Manzoomah Usool al-Fiqh (p. 67)
what appears to be the case, and Allah knows best, is that in
such countries where this problem (free mixing) is widespread, a concession
may be granted allowing the people to study and work in mixed environments,
such as is not granted to others, as stated above. But that should is
subject to a number of conditions, as follows:
Firstly:
The individual should first of all strive hard to look for a
place in which there is no mixing, as much as possible.
Secondly:
He should adhere to the Islamic rulings such as lowering the
gaze, and not talking and engaging in conversation more than is necessary
for the purpose of work or study.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked about a young man who cannot
find anything but a school that is mixed. He said: You have to look for a
school that is not like this, but if you cannot find such a school, and you
need to study, then you may read and study, and try to the best of your
ability to keep away from immorality and temptation, by lowering your gaze,
guarding your tongue, not talking to women and not walking past them.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb
(1/103, 13/127)
Thirdly:
If a person notices in himself an inclination towards that
which is prohibited, and realises that he is being tempted by some of the
women who are with him, then preserving his religious commitment takes
precedence over all other interests. In that case it is essential for him to
leave that place, and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will make him
independent of means by His bounty.
For more information, please see the answers to questions no.
45883 and 69859.
