Is It Permissible for Men to Read Women’s Online Forums?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Many women discuss topics like periods, body, hijab, and navigating Islam on online forums, believing no men are present.

However, men do access these forums, which lack verification. Some men take screenshots to mock women, for example, when discussing inheritance rules.

The question arises: should men be entering women’s forums? The ruling concerns men who 1) lurk passively or judge posts, and 2) post screenshots elsewhere.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

If a forum is intended for sisters only and advertised as such, and a man knowingly enters and joins, it would constitute deception; and if he were to share posts, it would constitute mockery and harm to others.

Also, it is the responsibility of women to ensure there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, given the known infiltration of social media.

If a forum is known to be easily accessible to anyone, it is wise not to assume complete privacy. This falls under taking reasonable means (asbab) to protect oneself.

Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) passed by a man selling food. He put his hand in it and saw something wrong with it.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “He is not one of us who cheats.” [Ibn Majah]

Allah Most High says, ‘O believers! Do not let some men ridicule others, they may be better than them, nor let some women ridicule other women, they may be better than them.’  [Quran; 49:11]

Abu Huraira ( Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, a man might speak a word to make those around him laugh, yet by it he plunges farther than the star of Pleiades.” [Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad]

There Should be No Harming or Reciprocating Harm

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri ( Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Do not cause harm or return harm. Whoever harms others, Allah will harm him. Whoever is harsh with others, Allah will be harsh with him.” [Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra]

Women have a responsibility to ensure there is a reasonable expectation of privacy before sharing sensitive matters online. At the same time, men have an independent responsibility to respect others’ privacy, avoid deception, and refrain from exposing or mocking what they read.

[Shaykh]Ilyas Patel

And Allah knows best.
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

• The Fiqh of Social Media: SeekersGuidance Critical Issues SeminarThe seminar provides guidelines on how we should engage with social media and outlines the realities of these platforms. You can watch the full seminar here: The Fiqh of Social Media – Critical Issues Seminar – Sh. Faraz Rabbani and Sh. Abdullah Misra.
• What is The Degree of Sin For Mocking a Group of People?Mockery, name-calling, spying, and backbiting have extremely detrimental effects on relations. One will be sinful according to the degree of mocking of a people, but not for every single person.

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.