What is the ruling of sitting in front of a marriageable woman in a bus or at school?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

There is no harm for a man to sit in front of a woman in a car or at school provided one is not in seclusion with her, and provided that this does not cause anyone of them to be tempted by the other, and each one should observe religious requirements.

Nonetheless, mixing with women in schools and sitting close to them, these days, contains some disadvantages even if they wear Hijab. That is because we are living in a corrupt environment where religion is strange and where there are many temptations; unfortunately these habits are infiltrating the Muslim societies. This is nothing but a blind imitation to the non-Muslims.

Therefore, it is more appropriate for a Muslim to avoid this as much as possible in order to protect his religion and avoid any means that could lead to committing a religious prohibition.   

Allaah Knows best.