Amat Allah
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In brief, what the Fuqaha' have said about women's voices isthat they are not 'Awrah in and of themselves.
They say there is nothing wrongwith listening to them when there is a need to do so.
Therefore the Fuqaha' donot forbid listening to them, but certain conditions do apply:
The woman should speak without elongating the words, makingher voice soft, or raising her voice.
It is Haram for a man to listen withenjoyment, for fear of Fitnah (temptation).
The decisive factor for knowing what is Haram in the matterof women's speaking
is what is included in the Ayah (interpretation of themeaning):
"O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any otherwomen. If you keep your duty (to Allah),
then be not soft in speech, lest he inwhose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery, etc.)
should be moved with desire, but speak in an honorable manner."
[Noble Quran33:32]
What is forbidden is being too soft in speech. It isobligatory for women to speak in an honorable manner,
which means, as theMufassirin explained, that they should not make their voices soft whenaddressing men.
In conclusion, what is required of The Muslim Woman when shespeaks to a non-Mahram man
is that she should adhere to what is mentioned inthis Ayah.
She should refrain from what is forbidden and should fulfillher duties. She should speak only when necessary,
and only about matters thatare permissible and honorable, not evil.
Between a woman and a non-Mahram manthere should be no intonation, gestures, chat, joking, flirting or playfultalk,
so that there will be no room for provocation of desires and doubts.
Women are not prevented from talking to non-Mahram men when it is necessary todo so,
such as dealing directly with them when buying things or conducting anyother financial transaction,
because in such cases it is necessary for bothparties to speak.
A woman may also ask a scholar about some legal Islamicmatter, or a man may ask a woman such questions,
as is proven in various textsof the Quran and Sunnah.
Within the guidelines described above, there is nothingwrong with a woman speaking to a non-Mahram man.
It is also permissible for mento greet women with salaam and vice versa, according to the most correctopinion,
but this greeting must be free of anything that may provoke desire inthe person in whose heart is a disease,
so as to be safe from Fitnah and payattention to the regulations outlined above.
If there is fear of Fitnah being provoked by this greeting, then the woman shouldrefrain from
either initiating or returning the greeting, because warding off Fitnah byneglecting the greeting is warding off mischief,
and warding off mischief takesprecedence over doing something useful.
(Seeal-Mufassal fi Ahkam al-Mar'ah by 'Abd al-Kareem Zaydan, vol 3/276).
And Allah knows best.
Khadejah Jones
Share Islam Team
ShareIslam.com
