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Fatwa CenterWomen going out to entertainment places
Question
Salam 3alaikum, The planet is a vast one. Staying in the house with nothing to do allows for the breeding of destructive thoughts. I am a Muslim, and I believe that women, just like men, have the right to enjoy the public space. So when I hear that as a woman I can't go out to movies, to cafes, to merely hang out with friends, I questions the concept of justice most Islamic scholars give out. Women just as men want to go out and socialize. A life constrained to the house is very sad and depressing. My question is this, are women is Islam supposed to be constrained to their houses while men do not? what's the point behind that? Are women's social spaces and entertainment needs different than men? Women just like men want to go out with their friends, women just like men, want to meet up in cafes if they can't meet up in their own homes. And why is it fine if men were in places with women while women can't be in spaces with men? Please provide me with an answer. Jazakum Allah Khairan
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Islam is just and gives each and everyone his right. The equality of men and women in everything is not justice at all. Rather, this is injustice for the woman because obliging her to do things that do not suit her nature physically and psychologically is an injustice to her.
Staying at home is better for the woman in all cases, and it is for this reason that she is religiously ordained to do so. Allaah Says (what means): {And abide in your houses.}[Quran 33:33]
If by staying at home a woman is exposed to destructive thoughts, as you mentioned, then her going out in a manner that is not Islamically permissible and mixing with men makes her even more exposed to deviation, and worse than this is that she could corrupt others. In this way, she causes more damage than good. It is for this reason that many rational and wise people from the west, clarified the danger of women mixing with men at the workplace, and elsewhere.
In addition to this, Islam does not prohibit a woman from going out to work, to study or to entertain, provided she abides by the religious requirements. Women are religiously prohibited from mixing with men; in the same way, men are religiously prohibited from mixing with women. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 91457 and 84281.
Besides, if there is any type of prohibition in entertainment places like music or mixing between men and women, then going to them becomes prohibited for men and for women.
A Muslim, whether a man or a woman, should endeavour in his free time to benefit himself in this worldly life and the Hereafter. We clarified how to achieve this in Fataawa 86533 and 92425.
Finally, it should be noted that a Muslim should base his/her convictions on the principles and values of Islam and not be lured by the thoughts that contradict it. Those with destructive and deviant methodologies and thoughts that contradict Islam are callers leading to the door of Hellfire and whoever obeys them and answers their call, they would cause him/her to be thrown into it; we seek refuge in Allaah from this.
Allaah Knows best.
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