Is it permissible for there to be free mixing in homes and marketplaces with Sharia-compliant controls, and what is the extent of the validity of using as evidence for its permissibility cases such as Umar appointing a woman in the marketplace, or the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sitting with the Companions without a veil in some lessons, or the mixing during Hajj and Umrah?

The essence of the fatwa: The fundamental principle in Islamic law is to keep alien men and women separate to prevent fitna (temptation/strife), and several pieces of evidence support this: 1. Qur'anic Verses: Including the verse: "And when you ask [his wives] for anything, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts." (33:53) This applies to all Muslim women. 2. Prophetic Hadiths: Such as the hadith: "Beware of entering upon women," and "The in-law is death," and the hadith: "The best rows for men are the first ones and the worst are the last ones, and the best rows for women are the last ones and the worst are the first ones," and the hadith stating that the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded women to delay their departure from the path of men. 3. Historical Evidence: This includes the fact that the Prophet's wives would stand up immediately after the Prophet's salutation to leave before the men, and that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) would circumambulate [the Kaaba] in a separate area from men and would not mix with them.

As for the arguments made to permit mixing, they are refuted: The argument based on Umar appointing Ash-Shifa' over the marketplace is weak and invalid. The claim that the Prophet did not give his lessons from behind a veil except on rare occasions is a fabrication that contradicts sound evidence proving that the Prophet designated a specific day for teaching women. Mixing in Hajj and Umrah is not correct; women did not mix with men during circumambulation in the early days of Islam, and any mixing that occurs there is due to extreme necessity and is a minor, transient occurrence that cannot be used as a basis for analogy.

Mixing between genders takes various forms, and its ruling differs according to its nature, the extent to which it leads to fitna, and the necessity that calls for it.