Having meals with non-mahrams

· 21 Jumada I 1443 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

Is it permissible for me to sit and eat with my girl cousins while her father, mother, brother and my mother are also seated there.

Also, can I say جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا and speak about general things like Madrasah with her mother, who is my mother's brother's wife while they are wearing abaya and scarf but part of their hair or neck is exposed?

Answer

Your female cousins are non mahrams to you. Hence, you should not sit with them and be casual with them. You are supposed to be observing pardah with them.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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