Fatwa No. 43 — p. 72

Question:

What is the ruling on speaking with a non-maḥram woman in the street? For example, a female professor who taught me saw me in the street and greeted me. Is this forbidden?

Answer:

Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn. To proceed:

There is no objection to speaking with a non-maḥram woman (imraʾah ajnabiyyah) within proper bounds (bi-l-maʿrūf) when there is a need to do so — so long as it takes place without seclusion (khalwah) and without suspicious circumstances.

A woman’s voice does not carry the legal status of ʿawrah in itself — meaning it is not among the things that Islamic law obligates her to conceal — and therefore there is no prohibition on hearing it when a need exists. What is forbidden is softness and seductiveness in speech (al-khudūʿ bi-l-qawl), as Allah Most High said “Do not be soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is disease should covet — but speak with appropriate and recognised words.” (1)

Women used to speak with the Prophet (ﷺ) and with his Companions — asking questions and seeking religious rulings (fatāwā) — and there was no objection to that. (2)

And Allah Most High knows best.

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Footnotes (Takhrīj):

(1) Sūrat al-Aḥzāb (33:32) .