All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Previous Fatwas on this topic don`t prohibit all kinds of conversations between men and women. Rather, if there is a necessity that a woman talks to a man, such as in sale and purchase transactions, then this is permissible provided that there is no softness of speech. This is in compliance with the following verse: " O Consorts of the Prophet! Ye are not like any of the (other) women: if ye do fear (God), be not too complacent of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech (that is) just." {Al-Ahzab, 32}.
It is worth pointing out that a woman`s voice isn`t Awrah that renders one`s prayer invalid upon hearing it. Rather, We fear that these private chats could lead to what is forbidden in Islam, as mentioned in previous Fatwas on the same topic. This was reiterated in the comments made on the above Fatwa in different media outlets. They have supported the fact that these private chats between the two genders leads to prohibited attachment although they first started chatting about general topics.
Rather, had this chatting not been suspicious, the sister wouldn`t have posed a question about it in the first place. Hasan bin 'Ali (May Allah be pleased with them) said: I remember (these words) from Messenger of Allah (PBUH): "Give up what is doubtful to you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt".[At- Tirmidhi, who categorised it as Hadith Hasan Sahih]. In addition, a sincere Mufti is one who gives the ruling that saves you from hellfire and not that which pleases you. We, Iftaa` Department, state the truth and Allah the Almighty Says {What means}: "Nay, man will be evidence against himself, Even though he were to put up his excuses." {Al-Qiyamah, 14-15}.
Moreover, a true believer is one who makes his desire follow the truth while a non-believer is one who wants the truth to follow his desire, and this is corruption. In this regard, Allah Says: " If the Truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the earth, and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption! Nay, We have sent them their admonition, but they turn away from their admonition." {Al-Mu`minun, 71}. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.
