Can I Role-Play With Women During Sales Training
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
May I attend a free online sales training event where the instructor is a woman, and I may have to role-play a sales scenario with a woman?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
Yes, you may attend. It is allowed to learn from a woman teacher, and it is also fine to do a professional role-play with a woman, as long as you follow the usual guidelines.
The Limits That Apply
There are four main guidelines to keep in mind, and all of them can be followed in an online session.
Lower the gaze. Allah (Most High) says, “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity; that is purer for them.” [Quran 24:30]
In the Shafiʿi school, it is permitted to look at a non-mahram woman’s face and hands where there is a need, such as trade or instruction, and there is a strong position permitting it without a need, where there is no desire and no temptation.
Looking beyond that, or looking with desire, is not permitted.
Avoid seclusion (khalwa). An open online session with a group present is not seclusion. A one-to-one private call would be a different matter, and should be avoided.
Keep your speech professional. Allah (Most High) says, addressing the Prophet’s wives, “Do not be soft in speech, lest one in whose heart is disease should covet.” [Quran 33:32]
Speak as you would to a colleague: clearly and focused on the work.
There should be no physical contact, and nothing in the role-play should involve acting out intimacy or flirtation.
Some sales training may encourage building rapport in ways that become flirtatious. If that happens, excuse yourself from the exercise.
Principle and Practical Guidance
The main principle is that a legitimate need permits interaction, but it should be limited by the scope of the need.
This is governed by how you look, speak, and avoid being alone together. Attend the session and keep things professional; if you feel emotionally involved, it is best to step away.
I would like to share one more thought, as a brother. You have asked several similar questions, and each time the same four principles apply. It might help you more now to take a short course on interacting with the opposite gender and on the fiqh of the gaze.
This way, you will understand the rules and be able to apply them yourself in new situations, rather than needing to ask for a ruling each time.
And Allah (Most High) knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
