By Abool 'Aamaal Misbaah Olagunju
Bismillaahi wal'hamdulillaah wa salaatu wa salaam alaa ashraf-il-mursaleen
"And there is no contention that when men and women gather in the same location, shaytaan surely plots against them, planting yearns in the hearts of each of them towards the charms of the other, subjecting him/her to his/her fitnah". And the only means to safety from this temptation is by avoiding intermingling and seclusion with the Ajaanib (strange men or women) — Abu AbdurRahman Amr bin Abdul'Mun'im bin Saleem
The woman, whenever she has the needs to go out for the right reasons of seeking knowledge of that which is indispensable in the actualization of her religious duties as required of her by Allah; then no doubt that she must avoid falling into prohibitions resulting from sinning while trying to fulfill a religious obligation.
So the sixth conditional requirement of the Islamic legislation for the woman going out in search of knowledge is:
[6] Lowering her gaze and questioning the Shaykh from behind a barrier (or wearing a veil).
The woman going out for any legislated reasons have the obligation of lowering her gaze, she should avoid making eyes contact with her male teacher(s) and other strange men who may also be at the knowledge circles because doing this is surely a means to falling into fitnah.
This is due to the statement of Allaah —subhaanahu wa taala— in Surah An-Noor, Verse 31:
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُن
"And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and not to display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments..."
And in Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 53, Allaah say:
وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَاب ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِن
"And when you ask of them any goods, ask them from behind a curtain; this is purer for your hearts and (for) their hearts."
Lowering the gaze by a woman and keeping herself concealed from the gazes of the men who are also obligated to lower their gazes is from the means to protecting them from fitnah, because shaytaan takes advantage of both the man and woman by entering their hearts with incitements, whenever the woman reveals herself to the man.
Therefore the woman should conceal the entirety of her body by wearing the legislated hijab and her face by wearing a face veil in the presence of his male teachers and other male students (at the madaaris). And as Allaah mentioned in the above verse; it is purer for the hearts (i.e more preserving) if the women are behind a barrier which totally conceals them from the men while in the knowledge gatherings.
And it has been narrated from the Rasool —may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace— in an hadith reported in the saheehayn and other books of ahaadith from Abdullaah bin Abbas —may Allaah have mercy on him and his father—, who said:
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ مَا رَأَيْتُ شَيْئًا أَشْبَهَ بِاللَّمَمِ مِمَّا قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ عَلَى ابْنِ آدَمَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الزِّنَا، أَدْرَكَ ذَلِكَ لاَ مَحَالَةَ، فَزِنَا الْعَيْنِ النَّظَرُ، وَزِنَا اللِّسَانِ الْمَنْطِقُ، وَالنَّفْسُ تَمَنَّى وَتَشْتَهِي، وَالْفَرْجُ يُصَدِّقُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ وَيُكَذِّبُهُ ".
Narrated Ibn `Abbas: I have not seen a thing resembling 'lamam' (minor sins) than what Abu Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet who said "Allaah has written for the son of Aadam his share of adultery which he commits inevitably. The adultery of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the adultery of the tongue is the speech (vulgarity), and the inner self wishes and desires while the private parts either affirm these or deny it."
Abu AbdurRahman wrote: Al-Hafidh bin Hajar said in Fat-hul Baarii;
Ibn Bataal said: "Listening, Looking and Talking (all with regards to the unlawful) are all Zina' for the fact that they are what calls on to the real adultery. This is why he —may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace said—; "The sex organ is what affirms this and denies it.""
And these are the conditional requirements of the sharee'ah for a woman going out in search of knowledge which is indispensable in fulfilling her religious obligations, and also the mannerism she must employ while at it.
Moreover, the emphasis on the kind of knowledge required of a woman in this treatise should not be understood to be a discouragement of women from the path of knowledge, rather it was done to clarify and make her understand her obligations regarding knowledge, and matters related to it.
Women just like men are allowed to tread the path of knowledge up until they attain the status of scholars in different fields of knowledge if they have the means, and this is a lofty and encouraged endeavor because of the immense benefits it brings to the Muslim Ummah, especially to the Muslim children and women, but this endeavor should not be embarked upon at the expense of other obligations which have been discussed such as; Avoiding Ikhtilaat, Khalwah and Tabaaruj, nor should it be at the expense of putting herself in harms way or constituting fitnah for others.
Therefore the means to attaining this knowledge have to be in line with the requirements of the sharee'ah as highlighted so far from the explanations of the people of knowledge.
And this conclusion is in line with the principle;
الوسائل لها أحكام المقاصد
"The means takes on the same ruling as the intended aim"
The inference here is that it is not permissible to employ an haram means in attaining a legislated aim. So the obligation or recommendation of a particular act of worship does not suffice in the judgement of the permissibility for engaging in it, the means employed in attaining the Waajibat (obligation) or Mandubaat (recommended deed) are also to be examined when making that judgement.
And we beseech Allaah the most beneficient for beneficial knowledge and deeds that will be graced with acceptance.
References:
Fadaailul-Hijaab wa aaqibatu tabarruj wal ikhtilaat - Aboo AbdurRahmaan.
Al-Adaab ash-shar'iyyah linisaa fee talabil lm - Amr Abdumun'im.
Al-Qawaa'id wal-Usoolul Jaami'ah - Al Imaam as-Sa'dee.
Wa salallaahu alaa nabiyyina Muhammad wa alihi was'haabihi wa salaman tasleeman katheerah.
Subhanaka Allaahumma wa bihamdik ashhaadu an laa ilaha ilaa ant wastaghfirka watubu ilayhi.
for Part II.
