NO GENDER SEGREGATION IN ISLAM

Sheikh”Muhammad Abduh” (Egypt 1849-1905) the Head of Islamic verdict body (Mufti )for Egypt & most Islamic countries in his time wrote on this issue saying

1)  MEN & WOMEN ARE MIXED IN THE CROWD IN HARAM MAKAH , & Haram Makkah is the holiest place & Haj or Omra’ is the highest spiritual/religious status for muslims , thus if gender segregation was a virtue by any means ,then ALLAH & the Prophet who call for piety would have segregated women & families from for bachelor men in Haram or assigned different times for each of them so as not to meet or mix

2)   NOT ONE SINGLE VERSE IN QURAN CALL FOR BARRING WOMEN OR SEGREGATING HER IN PUBLIC LIFE , on the contrary, Islam equated women to men except only in the polygamy right- due to biological reasons -Q 4;124

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ

translation “And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female,”——— Also Islam did not ask women to cover their face or bar themselves from public life (see my article “No face covering for women in Islam” )

3)   ALLAH HAS CREATED THIS WORLD & ENABLED THE HUMANKIND (MALE & FEMALE )TO ENJOY ITS BENEFITS within his/her best capacity under enacted rights & duties & ALLAH has equated man & woman in their duties & in their right to enjoy  the world benefits & did not divide or segregate the earth to areas , some for men& other for women , whereby each gender work & enjoy the benefits separately , but ALLAH has made life pleasures common to both genders subject to their work & effort without any discrimination, so how come any woman can enjoy the benefit ALLAH allowed her as a result of her work without interacting & dealing with the male & female gender , definitely neither the Shara (Islamic legislation) neither mind would accept this , moreover those who ask for women segregation are all having foreign women servants (who are not legal relatives) for serving themselves or families in their homes & without any segregation, so how come they allow the mixing behind closed doors & ban it in public life

4)    ISLAM HAS ALLOWED WOMEN TO OWN & MANAGE THEIR OWN PROPERTY & wealth& to manage it separately from their husbands or families , so how come the woman can handle her business & interact with public & government & judicial bodies & customers & suppliers (men & women)if she was segregated or barred & it has been proven from many cases that women have been robbed & embezzled by their male relative proxies when the women were barred & handed over their business management to their male relatives

5)   ALLAH GAVE EXAMPLES OF HIGHLY RANKED  WOMEN  holding top governing positions as Queen” Belques” of Yemen “Sabaa” , when telling the story of “Solaiman” , Q 27;23

إِنِّي وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ

translation “Indeed, I found [there] a woman ruling them, and she has been given of all things, and she has a great throne.”—–   &

27;33 قَالَتْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِي فِي أَمْرِي مَا كُنتُ قَاطِعَةً أَمْرًا حَتَّىٰ تَشْهَدُونِ ﴿٣٢﴾ قَالُوا نَحْنُ أُولُو قُوَّةٍ وَأُولُو بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ وَالْأَمْرُ إِلَيْكِ فَانظُرِي مَاذَا تَأْمُرِينَ ﴿٣٣

translation” She said, “O eminent ones, advise me in my affair. I would not decide a matter until you witness [for] me.” They said, “We are men of strength and of great military might, but the command is yours, so see what you will command

Women good logic & mentality has been also testified by Khalifa “Omar” who was talking about some issues in the mosque & a woman objected to his opinion & debated him & refuted his opinion & he admitted that she was right on this & said his famous say “ A woman is right & Omar is wrong”

6) ISLAM ALLOWS WOMAN TO TRAVEL & LIVE ABROAD & WORK , ALL BY HER OWN & Islam gave the great example to this of our REVERED MOTHER HAGAR, the wife of PROPHET IBRAHAM (saws father of prophets) and the mother of the prophet Ismail ,when she was left by Ibraham –upon order of ALLAH – in the Makkah desert alone with her child for several years & had to protect & take care of herself & child & to manage their living needs on her own & DEALT & INTERACTED WITH THE MEN , leaders & traders & members of the Arabian tribes that crossed & lived nearby her & she was selling them “Zamzam” well water & buying herself & child needs .See “Ibrahim” calling Allah about this in Quran

14;37 رَّبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ

translation “Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House”—— When left there, Hagar found nothing to feed her hungry thirsty son “Ismail” so she kept running to & fro between “Safa” & “Marwah” until Zamzam water well ejected , & ALLAH HAS GREATLY CHERISHED & ETERNIZED HAGAR THE WOMAN & MOTHER WORK EFFORT & pursue where ALLAH made her footsteps pursuit a main ritual in Haj /Omra Q2;158

إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَائِرِ اللَّـهِ

translation “Indeed, al-Safa and al-Marwah are among the rituals of Allah”—

7)   PROPHET WIFE & MOTHER OF BELIEVERS “KHADIJA” was a big trader in the market & was handling & managing her own business with men & female traders & business affiliates

8)-Also for those who are hadith fans & prefer reverting to hadith for information , then I cite a hadith in sahih bukhari saying

“كان الرجال و النساء يتوضؤون جميعا فى زمان رسول الله”

translation “The men and women did ablution together in the time of the Messenger of Allah. This sahih hadith (thought to be true) proves that there is no gender segregation nor face barring because the ablution process requires revealing face, hair , arms , foot..

9)-WOMAN BARRING& FACE COVERING CAN BE A GOOD MEANS FOR SIN & fornication because women who want to have illegal relation with strange men can go out undercover(full veil) & do any sin without their husbands or relatives or anyone identifying them

10) GENDER SEGREGATION CAN BE OPTIONAL BUT NOT COMPULSORY , thus, If a group of women or men decide to have an exclusive private gender club area or association or school or other, then it is up to them & their choice but this is not a social compulsion or requirement of Islam

11)  ALLAH ACKNOWLEDGED MALE & FEMALE MIXING IN PUBLIC LIFE &PLACES & told them both to lower their gaze & observe decency guidelines as stated in Quran 24;31

قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ,

translation “ tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their genital parts. that is purer for them. indeed, allah is acquainted with what they do. and tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their genital parts and not expose their adornment except that thereof appears and to bring their covers over their bosoms “–