1) Young Muslims - The Message

they could touch the corner of the Ka'bah. 'A'ishah refused to do so.[Sahih Bukhari]One of 'A’ishah's handmaidens came to her and said: "O Mother ofbelievers, I went around the Ka'bah seven times and touched thecorner twice or thrice".'A’ishah replied: "May Allah not reward you for pushing your waythrough men. It would have been sufficient for you to you to say"Allahu Akbar" as you passed by". [Musnad al-Shafi'i]There are two things that this shows us. First, 'A'ishah did nothesitate to circumambulate the Ka'bah when there were menaround, nor did she forbid other women from doing so. She onlyrefrained from crowding into men and mixing with them and this iswhat she prohibited others from doing. This shows us in theclearest of terms that the mere presence of men and women in thesame place is not prohibited.Second, the mixing and contact between men and womencircumambulating the Ka'bah that unavoidably occurs during Hajjunder todays crowded conditions cannot be used as proof that suchmixing is generally allowed. Firstly, the practice of the people doesnot constitute any sort of evidence in Islamic Law. Secondly, what ishappening today during Hajj is unavoidable. It is permitted out ofnecessity and cannot be made into a general rule for all times andcircumstances. It would be fruitless for us to try and demand thatwomen avoid contact with men while circumambulating the Ka'bahduring Hajj. It would be equally impossible to ask them to delaytheir circumambulations until the crowds depart, especially sincethe women on Hajj are always accompanied by the others whocame with them who cannot be forced to wait around.It is pure sophistry for anyone to use these exceptionalcircumstances to argue that men and women are allowed to mingleunder circumstances where no necessity exists. It is just as baselessYoung Muslims, What they should know about Islam Page - 183