Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Askimam.org » My daughter in University! How much do I know?

My daughter in University! How much do I know?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

My daughter  is very interested in higher studies  and  wants to go to UK   to study for a degree in a field where she wants to help the muslim community specifically and the  people in general  The university she wants to go is mixed   but  has an option of staying with  here  cousin  In the home country there is no such degree available for study  There have been mixed responses from my relatives   on this  as some say  its  Haram to  go  to a mixed university  even though she will be  Islamically dressed and some say it is ok  as  she has an objective  of serving the community 

I   would like to kno your views on this 

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

At the outset, one should understand that we are now passing through the age of mischief and corruption. Shaytan who is our enemy and from who we should constantly guard ourselves is making an all-out effort to deviate us from the straight path.

When one makes a major decision, then generally two things are considered for the success of the decision,

  1.  Intention.
  2.  Practical realities.

In an ideal situation where noble intentions, aims and objectives and practical realities complement each other, one can be optimistic of success. For example, a female has a noble intention to become a gynaecologist to serve women and studies in a female only university where she can maintain her chastity, dignity and honour and such an environment complements her noble intention, then the female could be optimistic of success without endangering her Imaan.

If the practical realities do not complement ones noble intentions, then there is a great possibility of a failure. There are many instances of girls having had noble intentions to serve humanity with their qualifications but practical realities did not complement their noble intentions. Many sincere girls got caught up in the mixed university environment. Incidents of female abuse, rape, pregnancy and drugs in university are well known and a common read in prints and electronic media.

  •  Facts and Statistics on Sexual Abuse.
  •  The 2015 Association of American Universities (AAU) Campus Survey on Sexual Assault, one of the largest studies ever of college sexual violence, drew responses from Campus Climate Surveys of 150,000 students across 27 schools, including most of the Ivy League schools. It found that more than 20% of female and 5% of male undergraduates said that they were victims of non-consensual sexual contact, defined as behaviours ranging from unwanted sexual touching or kissing to penetration, through either physical force or incapacitation, since entering college.

 

  • The Sexual Victimization of College Women. National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Findings from this report include: It is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions may be between 20% and 25% over the course of a college career. Among college women, 9 in 10 victims of rape and sexual assault knew their offender. Almost 12.8% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22.9% of threatened rapes happened during a date.

 

  •  Reported Campus Rapes Nearly Double from 2013 to 2014

 

  •  Student pregnancies at tertiary institutions worldwide are increasing every year despite the assumption that students have sufficient knowledge of the risks of unprotected sex. At TUT, the number of students who sought help as a result of unplanned pregnancies, abortion or post-abortion stress has increased by approximately 250% from 2005.
  • pastedGraphic.png

In the enquired situation, while we acknowledge the noble intention of studying in the university to serve ones community and mankind in general, the practical realities and dangers to ones Imaan cannot be ignored. 

A Muslim woman ought to be sensitive to her Islamic values and should sacrifice everything to ensure she maintains her Islamic values and morals. It is not sufficient for one to be merely Islamically dressed to be in a mixed environment. Attraction to the opposite gender is natural. There are innumerable incidents of Muslim girls with Islamic attire contracting immoral relationship at universities. The intention and Islamic attire is not sufficient to safeguard ones Islamic values in a co-ed environment. It is like placing butter next to fire and expecting the butter not to melt or placing metal next to a magnet and expect it not to react or touching a live wire and expecting not to get shocked.

If a woman persists in such an environment and completes her studies, it is very likely that she would fracture her Islamic values and ethos. The success of her studies cannot compensate for such a loss.

 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Huzaifah Deedat

Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

____________________

قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ 

(سورة النور، ٣١)؛

 

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ 

(سورة الأنعام، ١٥١)؛

 

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو هِشَامٍ الْمَخْزُومِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا سُهَيْلُ بْنُ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: «كُتِبَ عَلَى ابْنِ آدَمَ نَصِيبُهُ مِنَ الزِّنَا، مُدْرِكٌ ذَلِكَ لَا مَحَالَةَ، فَالْعَيْنَانِ زِنَاهُمَا النَّظَرُ، وَالْأُذُنَانِ زِنَاهُمَا الِاسْتِمَاعُ، وَاللِّسَانُ زِنَاهُ الْكَلَامُ، وَالْيَدُ زِنَاهَا الْبَطْشُ، وَالرِّجْلُ زِنَاهَا الْخُطَا، وَالْقَلْبُ يَهْوَى وَيَتَمَنَّى، وَيُصَدِّقُ ذَلِكَ الْفَرْجُ وَيُكَذِّبُهُ»

صحيح مسلم (4/ 2047)

 

أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، ثنا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ الْأَصَمُّ، ثنا بَحْرُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ، ثنا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ سَلْمَانَ، عَنْ عَمْرٍو مَوْلَى الْمُطَّلِبِ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ قَالَ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ” لَعَنَ اللهُ النَّاظِرَ وَالْمَنْظُورَ إِلَيْهِ

السنن الكبرى للبيهقي (7/ 159)

 

والأصل في هذا أن «المرأة عورة مستورة» لقوله – عليه الصلاة والسلام – «المرأة عورة مستورة إلا ما استثناه الشرع وهما عضوان

البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق ومنحة الخالق وتكملة الطوري (8/ 218)

 

http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/public-health/sexual-assault-rape-us-college-campuses-research-roundup

http://www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list

http://www.thecrimson.com/image/2015/10/2/sexual-offenses-harvard-type-graph/

This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.