#1168: Ruling on December Camp Programs
1168. QUESTION:
ON THE RULINGS OF DECEMBER CAMP PROGRAMS:
What is the rulings on going for camping programs in December as they usually organized.
ANSWER:
Alhamdulillah, concerning Camps that are organised at End of Year annually for the purposes of Ilm, awareness and Da’awah, we do not see anything wrong or bad about them provided they are not done to emulate the Kuffaar, do not involve free mixing of the sexes and do not take women out of their homes without considering the limitations of the Shar’iah on same.
Alhamdulillāh.
Generally, any form of outing that involved a Muslim Sister travelling without a Mahram, and to places where there is mixing of opposite sexes is not permissible in Islām.
Therefore, in the question asked, the determining factor is whether there are Mahārim for those women there and whether their is mixing of the sexes men and women?
We should know that despite the importance of seeking for knowledge and the emphasis that was placed on it by our Ulamā, they never encouraged women to travel away from their homes in its pursuit to places where they will be taught by men or to places where they will not be with their Mahārim men. Instead, they encouraged home schooling for women and to be taught in the communities they live in.
So serious did the Rasūl – salallāhu alayhi wasallam – take the matter of free mixing of the sexes that Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahullāh – said in Al-Istiqāmh 1/361:
_”When the Muhājirūn arrived Madīnah, the unmarried ones among them took residence at a specific house that was made for them and were completely isolated from the homes of the married ones. An unmarried person will not take residence in the midst of married ones. And all of this is because in the mixing of one of the two categories with the other is Fitnah. Whenever men freely mixed with women, then its like fire and wood.”_
Those associations and organizations that freely hold meetings and organize camps that involve both sexes need to take ponder and heed at this clear Prophetic Guidance and must not feel protected from the fitnah of the sexes.
And if you look at such gatherings and the activities that they do, you will not find much benefits in them at the end of the day that could not have been attained via other safe means.
The knowledge of Islām is gotten from studying under the guidance of a Teacher and not from Camps. So is awareness. A Muslim sister can get herself acquainted with everything from the comfort of her home if she has a guide and a teacher to put her through.
Extra caution also must be exercised by brothers that teach women.
Imām Abū Hamid Al-Ghazzālī – rahimahullāh – said:
_”And as long as the one who delivers the exhortation is a young man who is well-dressed, full of hair and very active in his hand movements and illustrations and ladies attend his gatherings, there is a great evil in that that must be stopped. This is because the destruction in that is much more than the rectitude…. Societal experiences are a witness to this…”_
And for this reason, it is known in our history that the men in every home were primarily responsible for educating the women in the same family.
True, there has been in our history women who travelled to seek for knowledge. But those were under very controlled circumstances and environments that do not apply to many of these organizations today.
Hoping those involved in these organizations will take heed…
And Allah knows best.
Barakallahu Fikum
Jazakumullahu Khayran
Abū Āsim
13th Jumadalth Thāni, 1443AH.
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