necessitates temptation through women; it is therefore incumbent upon the Muslims to block it. For that reason, a woman is obliged to veil herself from unrelated men, covering her face—and, according to many scholars, her hands and feet as well—and she must also avoid mixing with men, because such intermingling is a trial and a cause of evil from both sides, the men’s and the women’s.

For this very reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best rows for men are the front ones, and the worst are the back ones; the best rows for women are the back ones, and the worst are the front ones.” The only purpose behind this is to keep women distant from men; the farther they are, the better and more virtuous it is.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would instruct the women to come out for the ʿEid prayer, yet they did not mingle with the men. They had a place set apart for them, so much so that when he finished preaching to the men, he would descend, go over to the women, and admonish and remind them. This shows that the women were in a section separate from the men.

All of this happened in an era marked by strong adherence to religion and distance from indecency—so what should be said of our own time?

It is therefore obligatory to ward off the temptation posed by women by every means possible, and we must not be duped by what the people of evil and corruption—those who imitate the disbelievers—promote of calls for women to mix with men. That is nothing but a suggestion from Satan, Allah’s refuge is sought; he is the one who beautifies it in their hearts. There is no doubt that the nations that used to exalt women and make them