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What is the ruling regarding my living in an apartment by myself with a man who is not a mahram to me, while my room door is closed upon me, and what should I do to find a solution to this living arrangement?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible for a woman to live alone with a man who is a stranger to her in the same apartment, even if each of them is in a separate room. This is because it constitutes an unlawful seclusion (khalwa), and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade seclusion with a non-mahram woman. Furthermore, scholars have stipulated that for cohabitation between non-mahrams to be permissible, shared facilities such as the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway must not be common between them. Accordingly, the woman must leave that apartment immediately.

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

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