Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother Burhan,

Assalamualaikum va Rahmatullahi va Barkatahu,

 

I am an engineer from Saudi Arabia and I appreciate the way you give reply to us, and may Allah will give you best reward for all your efforts and may he will be pleased with you, dear brother in Islam I have a question to ask you, as I am educated and we have an interaction to use internet I found one lady chatting on the net and the subject was Islam, now we have a good communication every day and each mail consist of duas, and one quranic verse and hadiths. But now I want to know that is it right to have a communication via mails with a lady you donʼt saw, you donʼt hear her voice, but you send mails to share Islamic knowledge, to be very frank she love Allah and his messenger very much and she led me to do the same and I really appreciate her step, but I donʼt want anything which make Allah angry with me and so she.

 

Can you please clear our confusion that is it permissible or not to communicate with a non mehram lady? If the mails contain Islamic knowledge and some matter that will encourage you to go and perform salah (namaz), be in touch with Quran and Sunnah.

 

Appreciate your quick reply, thanks

Allah Hafiz

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Internet chatting with women

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 5:

5        This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you.  The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them.  (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before your time when ye give them their due dowers and desire chastity, not lewdness nor secret intrigues.  If anyone rejects faith, fruitless is his work and in the Hereafter; he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 32:

Do not even go near ‘zina’ (fornication or adultery) for it is a very indecent thing and a very evil way!

 

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3118        Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab

The Prophet (saws) said, "Whenever a man is alone with a (non-mehram) woman the Shaytaan makes a third!"

 

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, Islam absolutely prohibits and forbids the casual friendship, talking, meeting, etc. of non-mehrams; for these are paths that approach the evil and abomination of ‘zina’ (fornication and adultery), and ‘zina’ is listed amongst the gravest sins in Islam.

 

Contrary to popular and un-natural belief, the deen of Truth Al-Islam guides that there is absolutely no such thing as a ‘platonic’ relationship between two non-mehram members of the opposite sex.  Islam absolutely prohibits the believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day from forming a casual relationship with a non-mehram member of the opposite sex; as there is always a chance that such a relationship could lead the participants towards the evil abomination of ‘zina’, an act which is so detested and so despised by Allah Subhanah that He has Commanded the believers to ‘not even go near it!!!’.

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.254         Narrated by Ali bin Al Husain from Safiya, the Prophet’s (saws) wife.

The wives of the Prophet (saws) were with him in the mosque (while he was in Itikaf) and then they departed, and the Prophet said to his wife, Safiya bint Huyai, "Don't hurry up, for I shall accompany you".  The Prophet (saws) went out and in the meantime two Ansari men met him and they looked at the Prophet (saws) and passed by. The Prophet (saws) said to them, "Come here. She is (my wife) Safiya bint Huyai." They replied "Subhan Allah! (How dare we think of evil) O Allah's Apostle! (we never expect anything bad from you)." The Prophet (saws) replied, "The Shaytaan circulates in the human being as blood circulates in the body, and I was afraid lest the Shaytaan might insert an evil thought in your minds."

 

Respected brother, as noble as your intentions in studying the Quran or Islam with the non-mehram sister on a one-to-one basis through the internet might be, there is every chance that the evil and accursed enemy of man, the Shaytaan might inspire the two of you towards some evil.  Thus brother, it would be best and purest and closest to piety and righteousness that both of you fear Allah Subhanah your Lord, and abstain from maintaining such a casual relationship.  

 

You could very well find a brother to chat on the internet and study the deen, if that is what you intend to do….and the sister could very well find a sister….but for two non-mehram members of the opposite sex to chat on the internet on a one-to-one basis, even if it were to study the deen, would leave the door wide open for the Shaytaan to initiate his mischief.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verse 6:

6        Verily the Shaytaan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy.  He only invites his adherents that they may become companions of the Blazing Fire!

 

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),   one can be assured of never ever being misled;   but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.  

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan