Woman may choose not to listen to voice of non-mahram men
Fatwa No: 321034

Question

lI asked a question about talking before, but I have another one. Is it ok to not listen to the voice of non-Mahram (permanently unmarriageable) men in permissible cases? Is this called 'pardah'?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Yes, it is permissible for the woman not to listen to the voice of non-mahram men in the cases in which it is permissible for her to listen to it.

We do not know what you mean exactly with the question "Is this called pardah?" The word hijab in Islamic terminology means covering the Muslim woman's ʻawrah (what should be covered of the body) before non-mahram men by means of wearing a long gown and veil, for example, or by means of having a screen between her and the non-mahram man, as is the case when the woman is inside her house. There is no association between the hijab and listening to a voice; in other words, the woman may still hear the voice of the non-mahram man even in the presence of a hijab. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And when you ask (his wives) for something, ask them from behind a partition...} [Quran 33:53]

Allaah knows best.

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