In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
And blessings and peace be upon the noblest of creation and of the messengers, and upon his good and pure family
Regarding what one of the clerics put forward in his talk about “chaste” love between a married man and a married woman who is non-maḥram (ajnabiyya) to him: many brothers have written to me asking to what extent the statements made accord with the sharʿi view, and some asked me to respond and considered it a necessity.
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Owing to lack of time, we shall confine ourselves to a brief comment on the matter from several angles:
1- At the outset, I value the concern of some of the young people for the religion, and the presence of a sense of scholarly deliberation to clarify matters, even if that has issued from religious scholars; for just as the scholars have the role of educating and guiding, likewise society must rouse the scholars and set right those of them who may slip or err through oversight.
2- It would have been more appropriate for the Sayed—may Allah guide him aright—before putting forward the idea in the concepts that may seem to him to be derived from the narration, to refer it back to the foundations of the Sharia and the firmly established tenets of the religion, that is, to the Qurʾan and what is established of the Sunna of the Prophet and his most pure family, so that it would not conflict with the aims and spirit of the religion.
3- For there is no concept in the religion of a relationship of friendship between the two sexes except under the sharʿi headings, as in the words of Allah the Exalted, “nor taking paramours” (Qurʾan 5:5), and His words, “or those who take paramours” (Qurʾan 4:25)—that is, companionship and friendship. The religion has prohibited seclusion (khalwa) between a non-maḥram man and woman, and likewise [has confined] conversation with a non-maḥram woman to the extent of customary necessity, as is the purport of the noble narrations.
4- When some people face such a problem, what is expected of the religious scholar is to treat it as a problem and to warn against the footsteps of Satan that lead to what has unpraiseworthy consequences, as is the nature of the human species, and as the guidance of the religion has stated—guidance which warned the man against approaching any act that leads to Satan's entering into his relationship with a woman, such as jesting, lengthy conversation, sitting together in one place, and the like.
Likewise, what is expected of him—that is, the religious scholar—is to strengthen the husband's relationship with his wife and vice versa, and not to place this relationship within the sphere of privacy, because of the provocations of jealousy that result from it. Consideration should also be given, in this view, to the man's wife and to the woman's husband, so that the picture is complete; all efforts should be directed toward strengthening the marital relationship and removing everything that could destroy it. That is in order to prevent rashness in establishing ideas.
5- The grave and sensitive matter is the attempt by the Sayed who holds this view to lay a foundation for such a situation, to legitimize it and to justify it, by means of a narration he cited about the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds with Salman al-Farisi, in which the word “ḥabībatī” (my beloved) occurs. This is considered a transgression against the station of al-Zahraʾ (a)—not because he cited the narration, but because he placed it in the context of justifying an emotional situation between a married man and a married woman, which puts al-Zahraʾ in a similar position, and we seek refuge in Allah.
Forgetting the conduct of al-Zahraʾ (a) and her narrations concerning the hijab and speaking from behind it. The narration should be understood in accordance with the foundations of the religion and what is certain in the Sharia, especially since the narration is weak in its chain of transmission, owing to a number of unknown narrators (majahil) and others.
We have another well-known narration (in the story of the Bedouin and the lizard), whose text reads: “He knocked on the door, and she answered him from behind the door: ‘Who is at the door?’ He said to her: ‘I am Salman al-Farisi.’ She said to him: ‘O Salman! And what do you wish?’ So he explained the story of the Bedouin and the lizard with the Prophet (s)…”.
Moreover, the understanding of Salman's expression—even assuming it is authentic—should be within this chaste context of Lady al-Zahraʾ, and with regard to Salman's extremely advanced age, and to the station of al-Zahraʾ and the wilaʾi love for her, which is obligatory upon the Umma.
6- I have read the Sayed's justification of what he put forward, and how he described the people as harboring ill suspicion; it was not a sound justification and does not rise to the level of remedying what he put forward. We consider the justification a kind of retreat and hesitation regarding the idea, and this is good; but what would be more fitting is an apology to the station of Lady al-Zahraʾ (a), and taking care to be precise in the etiquette of speaking about the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
The Sayed—may Allah guide him aright—should regard the responses as something normal; for just as he has the right to put forward [ideas] and to critique, others have the same right.
We ask Allah to keep us away from misleading trials, and we ask Him, exalted is He, for chastity and right guidance.
Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
www.mosawy.com