Is It Permissible to Interact with Opposite Gender?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Can you please tell me the ruling on having friends and companions of the opposite sex? Even if 1st or 2nd cousin, would it be permissible for them to phone and message one another? Is the spouse entitled to be upset?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

In general, relationships and interactions with the opposite gender should be limited to times of necessity. When a need arises, in which one must interact with the opposite gender, it should be done in a formal manner with the proper etiquettes.

Etiquettes of Interacting with the Opposite Gender

One should refrain from any private messaging or phone calls. If there is a necessity, email is a more formal alternative. One should not meet with the other in a private place or to be alone with the person. Also, one should refrain from any seductive speech or excessive joking. Rather the speech should be purposeful and to the point.

The Rights of the Spouse

It is within the rights of the spouse to not want their partner to be interacting unnecessarily with the opposite gender.

Hope this helps
Allah A’lam

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.