MIXING OF SEXES IN ISLAM

A GATEWAY TO IMMORALITY

BY MAULANA ILYAS TARAPURI(TANZANIA)

Segregation of the sexes constitutes a fundamental aspect of the Islamic idea of MODESTY and CHASTITY..In the Holy Quran the Almighty Allah commands:

(1)”Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with what they do.” (Sura 24-Nur- verse 30)

(2) “And, say to the believing women, that they should cast down their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof: that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands…! And that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And, O ye believers! Turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain bliss”.(Sura 24-Nur verse 31)

(3) “O, consorts of the prophet! Ye are not like any of the other women: if ye do fear (Allah) be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech that is just”. (Sura 33-Ahzab-verse 32)

(4) “And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a display like that of the former times of ignorance:. (Sura 33-Ahzab-verse 33)

(5) “And recite what is rehearsed to you in your homes, of the signs of Allah and of His wisdom: For Allah understands the finest mysteries and is well acquainted (with them)”. (Sura 33-Ahzab-verse 34)

(6) “And when ye ask his (Muhammad’s sallallahu alayhi wasallam) ladies for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for their hearts”. (Sura 33-Ahzab-verse 53)

“O Prophet! Tell ye wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons…” (Sura 33-Ahzab- verse 59)

The above mentioned are verses quoted from the Holy Quran. We shall now proceed to enumerate what our noble Prophet (s.a.w) has said in connection with Islamic demand of PURDAH (segregation of the sexes and seclusion).

(1) Hazrat Umar (R.A) reported that the Prophet said: “whosoever dons clothing of pride in this world, Allah will cause him to wear garments of disgrace on the day of resurrection”. (MISHKAATH-Ahmad and Abu Dawood)

(2) Abu Musa (R.A) reported that the Prophet (S.A.W) said: “A woman who applies perfume and goes to a gathering is like an adulteress”. (MISHKAATH-Abu Dawood and Tirmizi)

(3) Abu Usaidal Ansari (R.A) reported that once whilst the prophet (S.A.W) was coming out from the mosque he(the prophet S.A.W) saw men and women mingling in the street. The prophet (S.A.W) then ordered the women to separate from the men and walk along sides of the street (in order to avoid mingling with the men folk). (MISHKAATH- Abu Dawood and Baihaqi)

(4) Ibn Umar (R.A) reported that the Prophet (S.A.W) forbade that a man should walk between two women. (MISHKAATH- Abu Dawood)

Furthermore said the noble messenger of Allah: “The best masjid for a woman is the innermost recess of her home.”

We have quoted sufficiently from the Quran and the sayings and commands of our noble Prophet (S.A.W). From these quotations every Muslim can conclude for him or herself that without the slightest shred of doubt the intermingling of men and women whether in public or private, is strictly forbidden by Islam. The Islamic demand for separation of the sexes, for modesty, for purity, for chastity and for moral decency is being nakedly abused by our persistence in this highly revolting practice of intermingling. The open transgression of the Islamic laws of PURDAH is a gross affrontation to the divine commandments of Allah.

Under the flimsy and baseless pretext of “equality of the sexes “western man has let loose the waves of sexual passion. In order to satiate its inordinate lustful cravings the western mind has invented this highly pernicious and dangerous practice of the intermingling of sexes. This practice of men and women mixing freely has only succeeded in plunging mankind in a vast conflagration of unspeakable immorality. The western press bears ample testimony to this fact.

Western parties and gatherings, dances, mixed picnics and co-educational institutions are a shocking revelation of the sexual misdemeanours perpetrated under the guise of the “equality of sexes”. In reality the western slogan of “equality of sexes “ is nothing but a carnal ruse to lure men and women into the pits of unbridled sexual desire and lust. In fact, up to this day the west has not yet given equality to its women-folk for the simple reason that they have yet been unable to understand what is meant by the equality of sexes.

For the benefit of the human race and for the healthy development of society, Islam has decreed the separation of the sexes and strictly forbidden any unlawful association between them. One of the direct causes of adultery and fornication so rampant in “modern society”, is free intermingling of the sexes. Immorality, illegitimacy and divorce cases, all result from this baneful practice.

The modern protagonists of “sex-equality” are endeavouring to mislead men and women by advancing perverted definitions of this term… “Sex- equality”. To them “sex- equality” means the gratification of inordinate carnal desires. They have no true desire for equality. How could they possibly desire the equality of the sexes when they themselves are completely unaware what is actually meant by this term. Their only aim is sexual laxity which is being preached under the garb of sexual equality. In his book, “ The future of Marriage in Western Civilisation” Dr. Westermarck says: “But even if public opinion would, in the future, grant complete sexual freedom to the unmarried of either sex, the indulgences in it by girls would still be attendant with serious disadvantages already pointed out. There would undoubtedly be exploitation of women by men; girls who remain virgins would still be preferred as wives, and the others would run the risk of being used for temporary purposes. Feminists advocating equal freedom for men and women seem to overlook the benefits that the men would derive from it: they would find it easier to gratify their desires in a more agreeable manner through intercourse with prostitutes, and at the same time to acquire sexual experience considered useful for their future marriage. When speaking of the “injustice of different moral demands on man and woman, those advocates also fail to notice that this difference is ultimately due to a difference in the sexual instincts of the two sexes”.

The only Civilization which honestly propagates true equality of the sexes is Islam. No other pattern of life, be it Westernism, Communism, Fascism, or any other “ism” has ennobled and elevated womanhood to such a high pedestal of respect and reverence as Islam. All the other systems of life have enacted a multitude of reforms and laws under the lauding banner of “EQUALITY OF WOMEN”. But, in reality, these so-called reforms were only enacted for the perpetration of sexual offences.

It is a proven fact that the promiscuous association of the sexes is one of the root causes for the many divorce cases, immodesty and unchastity so rampant in “modern society”. Immodesty and unchastity in turn have a serious effect on married life. Conjugal infidelity which the intermingling of sexes causes gives rise to one of the most destructive of human passions, i.e. jealousy. On this point, Dr. Westermarck writes:

“The jealousy of a man, particularly of a civilized man, differs from that of a male animal, apart from any feeling of injured rights- ownership or any other right. It is coloured by the nature of his love. It is accompanied with humiliation, because the loss of possession to which jealousy refers, or the failure to obtain it, is of such a nature as carries with it a lowering of man’s self-valuation. There may also be envy of what the other has obtained by depriving him of it. There may be fear of another man’s offspring being born into the family. But there is one characteristic common to sexual jealousy in all its forms, namely, that it is an angry feeling aroused by loss, or the fear of loss, of the exclusive possession of an individual who is the object of one’s sexual desire. It is impossible to suppose that the feeling of anger will ever disappear, however ugly and useless it may be. How violent… it sometimes is among ourselves is illustrated by the fact that in analyzing 188 murders committed by some persons in England, a prison commissioner recently found that the highest number, 46 were due to jealousy”.

“But even when the infidelity of a husband or wife does not give rise to the angry feeling of jealousy it causes deep sorrow; and I think it can be demanded of a spouse to consider whether he or she has the right to inflict such suffering upon the other party. Helene Stocker observes that the refined feeling of love implies instinctively an obligation to avoid, as far as possible, making the beloved person feel pain”.

Islam, in order to regulate sex and family life which are essential constituents of a healthy, stable and progressive civilization, has laid down certain restrictions which men and women must observe. Islam strongly disapproves of any social pattern which desires woman to neglect their primary and essential functions and indulge in other activities which cannot but be highly detrimental to their primary duties. The verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet (S.A.W) leave no doubt as to the restrictions demanded by Islam. Further sayings of the Prophet (S.A.W) in this regard are: “Do not go near women when they are alone”. Someone asked the Prophet (S.A.W): “What about the husband’s elder and younger brothers?” The Prophet (S.A.W) then said: “Intimacy with them is to be avoided as death”.

“If a person touches a woman with whom he has no legitimate relation, his hands will be burnt on the DAY OF JUDGEMENT.

In one of the verses of the holy Quran quoted elsewhere, Almighty Allah commands the wives of the Prophet (S.A.W): “…be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire…”

The indulgence in soft alluring speech is a cause of raising amorous hopes in the listener, as speech even, is an important source of sexual excitation. Van de Velde in his book, “Ideal Marriage” states:

“The tone-colour of a voice and the intonation of a single word- and it may be a word of no special meaning or association in itself- may excite incredible intensity of desire. The unique and precious significance that a woman’s voice can give to “you” or ‘thou” can suffice to overwhelm a man’s powers of endurance and control…” Islam has, hence forbidden its women to speak in a soft and sexually sweet tone.

If anyone is aware of the springs of sex-psychology he will clearly see the justification for Islam’s restriction on the free intermingling of the sexes. The Islamic teachings regarding sexual purity are saturated with wisdom and display great insight into sex-psychology.

Even a superficial examination of the teachings of Islam regarding modesty and chastity will reveal that Islam is categoric in its prohibition of the intermingling of sexes. The untrammeled freedom of immodesty following in the wake of western culture is intolerable to Islam. It is evident from the many restrictions imposed by Islam on the movement, dress, etc. of men and women that it views with disgust the joint participation of opposite sexes at social functions, etc. Yet, today Muslims have taken it upon themselves to legalized mixed parties, picnics and other social functions.

In Islam segregation of the sexes is strictly enforced even in religious worship and prayer, which are the highest duties of Muslim men and women. How simple is it then to understand, that if Islam has banned men and women mingling even in prayer, then it is unthinkable that intermingling of sexes with its accompaniment of all the agents of vice, is permitted in other matters.

Islam has therefore rightly condemned this practice of “intermingling” in order to bring about a morally healthy spiritual and social life without which a nation is bound to succumb to the dictates of the animal passion, thus relegating man to be just one other member of the family of lowly beasts.