Intermingling With the Opposite Sex During Hajj and Work


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas
Question: 1. When is a female transgressing in haram when she is performing hajj in the presence of other men. For example considering that there is over a million people during hajj, is it haram if a female accidentally touched a male during tawaf? What if she wants to get close to the kabah or touch it knowing that she will touch non mahram men as they are all over the place and hard to avoid? When is it ever permissible during hajj?
2. Is it haram to teach a class of only high school boys who have reached puberty? And is it ok to teach them while the door is open and I never look into their eyes? What are the rules regarding this?
Answer: assalamu `alaykum
1. Accidentally touching men, being in the vicinity of unrelated men, and the like, which you describe is potentially common during Hajj is not sinful. In terms of accidental physical contact, one can only try their best to avoid it in such a situation, and that is all that is expected from an individual. Of course, if you are reasonably sure that certain actions, such as attempting to kiss the black stone, will lead to such physical contact, you should avoid it.
Also, please note that there is nothing intrinsically wrong in being in the vicinity of the opposite gender. What is prohibited is khalwa, which is best understood as impermissible isolation, and this may or may not be the same as what many now refer to as “intermixing”.
For more on khalwa please see: Khalwa Answers 
2. No, it is not impermissible. You may leave the door open and this would be optimal, but even if you do not there are strong opinions that would not deem it to be impermissible isolation as there is more than one male.
Finally, it would be highly unprofessional not to mention ineffective and strange for you as a teacher to not make eye contact with your students. Our religion does not shun normalized gender interaction within the guidelines of proper etiquettes. Simply be normal, respectful, and kind in your interactions with your students and you will not have much to worry about.
Salman
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani
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