Q: I am a 20 year old male living in the UK. I want to go to university in this country however, there are very expensive tuition fees therefore most people have to take out a haram interest loan. However, there are a few courses that are full NHS funded so I can avoid the haram loan. One is called Dietetics BSc. I really want to do this course. However, the course is 87% female. The majority of these are young ‘attractive young ladies’. There are 13% male on this course and I’d do my best to avoid the females and stick with my male friends. However, a male being on a 87% female course, it will be hard to avoid them, and I fear looking at them with desire-which is haram in the hanafi madhab. Is there any position in any of the four sunni madhabs that will allow me to look at these students potentially with desire? I understand the whole point of these Islamic gender laws is to avoid
adultery. Even If I look at them even with desire, insha’Allah, nothing will come of it and I won’t commit adultery, I will avoid them these girls as much as I can and lower my gaze, but sometimes it is difficult to talk to these people without looking at them and I cannot guarantee that my looks will be free from desire.
I want to study this to earn a halal income, improve the health of my community and avoid the haram student loan, but I may have to look at these
people but I am not interested in taking it any further with these girls. They’re students, like me, and potentially a fitna for me. I will treat them
that way. But I cannot guarantee my looks will be free from desire.
A: To even imagine that any mazhab of Islam will allow you to look at any woman with desire is insanity and madness. Not even a jaahil will ever imagine that it is right for him to look at a na-mahram woman with desire. Imagine if some person wishes to look at your mother, sister or daughter with lust and desire! Will you ever tolerate that?
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)