[Many people think that Islamic co-education is wrong.

Men and women should be

separated, particularly if they are going to be given Islamic knowledge. But this view
is not the only one and ShaykhDawood Terblanche, lecturer in Fiqh at the
International Peace University South Africa, argues that not only is Islamic co-
education acceptable in the light of the Shariah but it might even be the more suitable
option given the circumstances we face.]

Co-education refers to a situation where males and females together share a class in
the acquisition of knowledge. This understanding does pose a concern to some
Muslims since it appears to encourage the intermingling of the sexes. For them such
education is even more problematic if the goal of the class is to
learn Islamic knowledge!

In South Africa there is a significant strata of the Muslim population who hold that
such co-education is a no-no, an alien and foreign concept. They argue that co-
education in the Muslim world emerged at the end of the ninetieth century as a direct
result of colonialism and imperialism. Ever since then, proliferation of schools and
colleges based on the British educational system started its rapid growth in a number
of Muslim countries. It is further argued that Islamic co-education is a recipe for
disaster. It gives rise to all forms of immoral behavior and unrestricted interaction
between the sexes.

Many ordinary people simply regurgitate the opinion of the national and international
‘ulama who hold such opinions thereby causing confusion in their communities. At
this level the word “haram” is bandied about, a word that has explosive connotations.

I think it is a bit worrying when we attach the word “haram” to Islamic co-education.
We need to ask: “ On what bases have you decided and what process have you used to
conclude that it is forbidden?” There has to be very firm evidence in this regard rather
than broad assertions based on isolated instances or of what co-education could
“potentially” lead to. On the other, a fairly solid case can be made for the
acceptability and even suitability of co-education- a case I will now make.

We can first start with what we mean by Islamic co-education. It ideally can be
defined as follows:
“ The acquisition and pursuit of Islamic knowledge by males and females in one class
at the same time with strict adherence to Islamic etiquettes, morals and values ”. The
pursuit of Islamic knowledge must be accompanied by such profound etiquette,
morals and values to have a positive effect upon an individual. This in turn leads to
proper interaction between the sexes. In the absence of morality
knowledgemerely becomes theoretical and not practical- knowledge that is not acted
upon.

.
With regard to the legality or otherwise of co-education: in the Islamic judicial system
any Hukm (ruling) must be substantiated by an undisputable proof. These proofs are
known as Al- Adillah al-Tashri’iyyah (legislative proofs) or Adillah al- Ahkam (the
proofs of Islamic legal verdicts, Usul al- Ahkam ( the origin of Islamic verdicts) or al-
Masadir al-Tashriyyah (the origin of legislative proofs).

These proofs are based on the primary and secondary sources in Islam. The primary
sources are the Qur’an and authentic hadiths of the Prophet (saw). The secondary
sources are Ijma (scholarly consensus) and Qiyas (legal reasoning using analogy),
concepts supported by the primary sources.

Thus, it is imperative that we ask the opponents of co-education; what textual

evidence have you used to support your argument that co-education is certainly
unacceptable in Islam? There are certainly noQura’nic verses nor a hadith which
prohibits Islamic co-education.
There is also no scholarly consensus of the issue. The argument against co-education
is only based on a fatwah (a legal opinion), based on evidence that is speculative, and
another fatwa can (and does) exist on the issue. Many ordinary people often think that
there can only be one fatwa on an issue. This is incorrect: they must know that other
opinions can validly exist and must be educated by the ‘ulama in this respect.

The institution which served as the center of education during the life of the Prophet
(saw) was the Masjid. There are absolutely no incidences recorded that the Prophet
(saw) prohibited the wives from attending his Khutbas, an important educational tool.
At times they would pose all types of questions to the Prophet (saw) concerning the
affairs of women. There are a number of other incidences recorded inhadith books
where the women accompanied their men to the masjid to draw inspiration from the
sermons of the Prophet (saw). There are also instances where women asked things of
the Prophet (SAW) in the presence of men.

Further, Islam has given the us a superior, comprehensive social system in which to
operate. If there is any compromise in its fundamental principles society will be
receptive to all vices, but there is a lot of scope for interpretation with regards to its
specifics. Co-education is one such specific area.

It must not be forgotten that even single sex education will not guarantee morality.
Morality ultimately emanates from the heart. The Qur’an is emphatic in this regard
and gives clear guidelines to both males and females alike. Allah says in Surah Nur:
“Say Oh Muhammad (saw) to the believing men to lower their gaze and to protect
their private parts, This will be more pure to them and indeed Allah is all
knowledgeable of what you do. And say Oh Muhammad to the believing women to
lower their gaze and to protect their private parts …”(Verse 30)

This verse can only be truly implemented if our inner consciousness is well-
developed.. If this is the case the standard of morality that must exist between men
and women can be maintained even if the environment is not “Islamic”.

And we have to face the facts: the reality of our society today is that there
is constant intermingling of the sexes, whether at school, work or in daily
interaction. At times it is within our control to dictate the type of interaction but more
often not. We are constantly bombarded by the media with images of interaction
between the sexes that is clearly unIslamic. It is this world that our boys and girls go
into, not an ideal world of minimal interaction between the sexes. In such a context,
co-education accompanied by the necessary Islamic morality, might be more suitable
than the single-sex model. It can act as a controlled laboratory through which students
are prepared for the challenges they will face outside that space. It will allow men and
women to interact with each other in accordance with the proper Islamic norms, which
they will then be able to confidently project on the outside world of frequent
intermingling. They might even be able to change that world!

We are not saying that single-sex Islamic education is wrong or not at all appropriate.
We recognize that it has advantages as well and may suit certain situations better than
the co-education model. But the principle of balance iyyah(al-wasat) in Islam
compels us to recognize that it is not the only perspective and that co-education too
has positive features.