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.
Private chats between the two genders is religiously forbidden, even about general, lawful topics because this involves softness of speech, and consequently, mostly leads to admiration and infatuation. In this regard, Allah Says {What means}: "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-Ahzaab, 32}.
Softness of speech eventually leads to committing sin. First, it starts with discussing lawful topics. Next, exchanging words of passion and love, then dating.
It did happen that some of those involved in such private chats have fallen in forbidden love, then committed adultery. Allah The Almighty Says {What means}: "Or have they taken (for worship) gods from the earth who can raise (the dead)?" {An-Nur, 21}. Moreover, it was narrated that `Ali bin Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) stood in `Arafah and said: "This is the place of standing and all of `Arafah is a place of standing.` He moved on when the sun set, then he put Usamah behind him (on his mount) and moved on at a measured pace on his camel, and the people started rushing right and left. He turned to them and said: `Calmly, O people.” ………………….Then A young woman of Khath’am asked him: My father is an old man and has become senile; he has lived until Allah made Hajj obligatory, Will it be acceptable if I perform Hajj on his behalf? He said: `Yes; perform Hajj on behalf of your father.` And he twisted Al Fadl`s neck (to turn his face away). Al-`Abbas said to him: O Messenger of Allah, why did you twist the neck of your cousin? He said: "I saw a young man and a young woman and I was not certain that they would be safe from the Shaitan." Then a man came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, I shaved my head before offering a sacrifice. He said: “Offer your sacrifice, there is no problem.” Then another man came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah, I did Tawafal-Ifadah before shaving my head. He said: “Shave your head or cut your hair, there is no problem." Then he came to the Ka`bah and circumambulated it, then he came to Zamzam and said: "O Banu ‘Abdul-Muttalib, it is your right to draw water for pilgrims. Were it not that the people would overwhelm you, I would have drawn water myself." {Related by At-Tirmithi}.
Shariah blocks all the ways that may lead to Fitnah (Temptation/trial); hence it forbids women to speak softly with non-Mahram men and forbids men to be alone with non-Mahram women. Not only this, but scholars have stated that it is forbidden for a young man to greet a non-Mahram young woman to avoid Fitnah.
All of the above indicate that private chats between the opposite genders are forbidden in all forms. Thus, women are allowed to chat with other women only and the same applies to men. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
