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What is the ruling of Islam regarding a widowed man over sixty, without children, who lives with two female servants aged 25 and 15?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The madhahib (schools of thought) have agreed upon the impermissibility of khalwa (private seclusion) with a non-mahram woman, and this applies to a man over sixty as well as others. As for a man's khalwa with more than one woman, there is a difference of opinion. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it to be impermissible unless there is a mahram present for one of them. The Hanafis permit it if a trustworthy woman is present. The correct view is the permissibility of a man's khalwa with women for whom he is not a mahram, as long as there is no fear of fitna (temptation), such as if the maid's sister is trustworthy and modest. However, it is preferable to employ a man instead of a woman as a precaution for religion and to cut off any causes of fitna.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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