The argument for Islamic co-education

Shaykh Dawood Terblanche

[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 Shaykh Dawood 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 knowledge merely becomes theoretical and not practical- knowledge that is not acted upon.

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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 no Qura’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 in hadith 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.