Question:

Assalamualaikum.

The question that i have to ask may require a little research It is about the relationship of a male with a female.

Now days, there many quarrels/fightings occur, among female and males ....There is many situations we hear and see about bad -behaviour with females either inside family or outside ......There could be many type of situations that exists these days like trappings of girl, raping of a girl......There are many circumstances exists now a days that in a single house, only a girl is living or might may along just one or two persons so she might have chance to be raped or treated badly AND MANY OTHER CASES.

In case it happens that a girl is being raped OR being treated so badly in daily life AND she is totally in need of protection after that event occured,and at that time, any male helps her ,saves her from wrong doers and try his best for make her relaxed, SO AFTERTHEN IF she feels more secure to live with the boy(who helped her) other than living in her house alone or where she is treated so badly (mean cant manage herself to stay there any more) or if no other better option she has left ,So, at this situation (a) IS THIS ALLOWED TO LET HER STAY WITH HIM (the boy who saved her)?? (b) HOW THEY WOULD LIVE AT THE SAME HOUSE?? (Mean, while living in the same house, persons do have to TALK, SIT TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER) which is not allowed in ISLAM for a male and female to be together in such a way in normal daily life ---- (c) WHAT WOULD BE THE CONDITIONS OF LIVING TOGETHER?? ETC ETC

There can be several circumstances when a female needs a help from the boy (who helped her) for daily purpose when (no one niether in her family)is there to treat her in good way SO, In such circumstances, IS THIS ALLOWED IN ISLAM TO LET THE MALE AND FEMALE TO MEAT TOGETHER, LET THEM GO HERE AND THERE TOGETHER (just for needs she has) ??

[ I HOPE YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WANT TO KNOW ]
Its my request to make yourself 100% satisfied before answering whether the answer/conditions/related hadiths etc you have searched are perfect for my question and according to the Islamic rules or not...
Thanks a lot for giving your precious time for answering my ques.
JAZA KALLAH !

Answer

Assalamu alaikum.

Thank you for asking this question. Also, I appreciate your visiting my personal homepage and leaving some generous comments in my guestbook.

The question that you have asked is a somewhat complicated one, because two conflicting priorities are to be addressed here.

First, there is an Islamic norm regarding the interaction between non-mahram men and women, especially in private settings.

The Prophet (s) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day must never be in privacy with woman without there being a mahram (of hers) with her, for otherwise Satan will be the third person (with them)." [Musnad Ahmad, quoted from Yusuf al-Qaradawi's The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, p. 150]

This is an important norm of Islam to be followed by Muslims to avoid many undesirable situations.

Second, there is another aspect of Islam, which is to stand up for justice and stand by people who are oppressed, abused, vulnerable or in distress - regardless of gender, race or other criteria. Of course, the threat of rape or other similar possibilities should be taken seriously.

If I understand correctly, you are asking about helping a female who is in such dire situation and needs shelter. You are asking whether a non-mahram can provide shelter for her at his home where there might not be another mahram for her or even for this male.

It is an unfortunate fact that in many muslim countries or societies there is no shelter for battered or abused women, which, of course, would have been the kind of temporary solutions needed.

Here are some of the possibilities:

1. If one knows about such shelter, a transitional option would be to find an arrangement with such shelters where battered, abused women or women under such threat can find sheters.

2. If the female needs protection and there is no alternative found, and if the boy has a family and the family is understanding enough, then they can arrange for such girl to stay with them, because this is an extraordinary circumstance, due to which the norm would not strictly apply. However, all the parties concerned should be extra careful so that the real Hududs (limits) are maintained.

3. The girl could be adopted as a member of the family and much of the restrictions would be "somewhat" relaxed.

4. If the boy and the girl are old enough and there is a genuine interest in a permanent solution, with mutual understanding of all parties concerned, the boy can marry her, which of course would be probably the best solution.

I suggest all these with the understanding that my opinions should not be considered authoritative. However, any authoritative opinion ought to take the aspects mentioned above into consideration.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.