Allah The Almighty commands the believing women to reduce their sight and guard their private parts, and not to expose their adornment except what necessarily appears thereof. He also orders them to let their headcovers fall over their chests, and this implies that they should screen the head and face. How can one reduce the sight, guard the private parts, and conceal adornment when the woman goes to the area of men and mixes with them at work, given that mixing is sufficient to cause these forbidden things? How can a Muslim woman reduce her sight while walking alongside a man who is a marriageable stranger to her, under the pretext that she is working with him, or is equal to him in all that she does?
Islam forbids all the causes and means that lead to what is prohibited. Islam also forbids women to be soft in speech to men in order not to lead men to covet them, as confirmed in the statement of Allah The Almighty (what means): {O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women. If you fear Allah, then do not be soft in speech [to men], lest he in whose heart is disease should covet, but speak with appropriate speech.} [Quran 33:32] The disease mentioned here is that of (sexual) desire: how should a woman guard herself against this while she mixes with men?
It goes without saying that if she enters the field of men’s work, she will inevitably talk to them and they will talk to her, and they will inevitably be soft in speech to each other, with Satan in the background to make evil actions alluring, and invite them to adultery until they fall victims of him.
Allah The Almighty is Wise and Knowing: He orders the woman to veil herself with Hijab (Islamic covering) simply because there are among men the pious and the wicked, and the pure and the dissolute. Hijab, by the permission of Allah The Almighty, prevents Fitnah (trial), prevents its means and causes, purifies the hearts of men and women, and keeps them away from being liable to accusation.
In confirmation of this, Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts…}[Quran 33:53] The best of partitions for the woman after veiling her face and all the parts of her body with clothes, is her house.
Islam forbids women to mix with men who are marriageable strangers in order not to expose herself to temptation, directly or indirectly. The woman is commanded to abide in her house, and not to come out of it except for a permissible need, provided that she observes the etiquettes stipulated by the Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation). Allah The Almighty calls a woman staying in her house Qaraar, which comes from an Arabic root that means “settlement and rest”. This is a sublime meaning, where her own soul enjoys rest, her heart is comforted and her breast expanded. To go out of that Qaraar leads to disturbance, troubles, constraints and exposes her to unfavorable consequences.
Islam also forbids the man to meet in private, or to set out on a journey with a woman who is a marriageable stranger to him except in the presence of her Mahram (non-marriageable male relative). This is in order to eliminate all the means of corruption, close all the doors of sin, remove all the causes of evil, and protect both from the plots of Satan. For this reason, it is narrated in an authentic Hadeeth (narration) that the Prophet, , said: "I have never left after me a Fitnah (trial) more harmful to men than women." [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah, An-Nasaa'i and Ahmad]
It is further narrated in an authentic Hadeeth, that he, , said: "Beware of this world and beware of the temptation of women: verily, the first Fitnah in which the children of Israel fell was that of women.” [Muslim]
Some of the advocates of free mixing adhere to the apparent meaning of many texts of Sharee‘ah whose real significance and connotation can be perceived only by the one whose heart is enlightened by Allah The Almighty, and who is well-versed in understanding the religion, and capable of making deductions on Sharee‘ah-based proofs (to elicit the valid ruling).
Among the instances mentioned in this context is that some women set out with the Messenger of Allah, in some battles. In reply to this, let us clarify that they set out in the company of their Mahrams, for many collective benefits, and brought about no corruption. They acted out of their deep faith and piety, remained under the guardianship of their Mahrams, and took great care in adhering to the Hijab after the Noble Verse of Hijab was revealed -- unlike the state of many women in this day and age. It is well-known that the woman coming out of her house to work is quite different from the state in which those women set out with the Messenger of Allah, in the battles. The comparison between them is completely inappropriate.
Also, consider how the righteous predecessors understood that matter, given that they were more aware of the meanings of the texts, and closer to the practical application of the Book of Allah (the Quran) and the Sunnah (tradtion) of His Messenger, : what was transmitted from them over time? Did they extend the exemption, as called for by the advocates of mixing, to include woman's work with men in all fields of life, crowding with them and competing with them; or did they restrict the matter to specific occasions which it should not go beyond?
Throughout the history of Islamic conquests and battles, this phenomenon did not exist. However, to call for the woman to enlist in the army, carry weapons and take part in fighting like men is simply a means to corrupt the moral character of armies. This is because once the man and woman meet in private, they, by nature, incline to each other, feel affable to each other, and are comforted by talking to each other, with one thing leading to another. Thus, to close the door of Fitnah is wiser, more decisive, and more suitable to avert regret in the future.
Islam is eager to bring about benefits for society as a whole and to eliminate the means that lead to unfavorable consequences, and to close all the doors that lead to them.
To be sure, a woman mixing with a man in the area of work has a great effect on the degradation of the Ummah (nation) and corruption of its community. Historically speaking, one of the most important causes that led to the degradation and decline of the Greek and Roman civilizations was the woman coming out of her private field into that of men, and competing with them, which resulted in the corruption of men's moral character. Thereupon, they left all the endeavors of material and spiritual advancement that had led to the progress of their nations.
On the other hand, a woman's occupation outside the house leads to the unemployment of men, the loss of harmony between family members, and the collapse of its structure, as well as the corruption of the children's morals. It also leads to opposition of the injunctions of Allah The Almighty in His Book (the Quran), i.e., the man's responsibility for the woman.
Islam keeps the woman away from anything that disagrees with her disposition. It forbids her to hold offices that involve public leadership such as being the president of a country, a judge, and so on, and all offices of public responsibilities, due to the statement of the Prophet, : "No people will prosper who give the matter of their ruling to a woman." [Al-Bukhari] To open the door for her to go to the areas of men is to disagree with the happiness and stability required for her by Islam. Islam forbids recruiting the woman anywhere other than in her own original field of work.
From the various experiments of mixed societies, it has been proved that men and women are different in their disposition and nature; and such differences between both natures are clarified in both the Quran and Sunnah. Those who call that the women who are brought up with ornaments while being unexpressive during conflict [as women are described in the Quran] should be equal to men, are indeed ignorant of, or are ignoring, the basic differences between them.