-
What Does "Don'T Go Near Adultery" Mean?
,Quran Verse 17:32 says: Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way. Does this mean any interaction with opposite gender is not allowed unless it is absolutely necessary like life or death situation?
Some very conservative ulema forbid coeducation, mixed gender gatherings, women working outside in the office etc and they quote this verse in their defence. Sometimes they quote this hadith too
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying. Allah fixed the very portion of adultery which a man will indulge in. There would be no escape from it. The adultery of the eye is the lustful look and the adultery of the ears is listening to voluptuous (song or talk) and the adultery of the tongue is licentious speech and the adultery of the hand is the lustful grip (embrace) and the adultery of the feet is to walk (to the place) where he intends to commit adultery and the heart yearns and desires which he may or may not put into effect.
I have watched some of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi sahab’s videos on gender interactions. He believes Co-education & mixed gender gatherings are allowed, Friendship between opposite gender is allowed, Falling in love, meeting each other, exchanging letters are allowed before marriage. So according to his understanding these actions do not bring a person near adultery. So how should this verse and hadith be understood?
quran.com
Surah Al-Isra - 32 - Quran.com
Do not go near adultery. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way.
-
1 Reply
-
What Does "Don'T Go Near Adultery" Mean?
updated 1 month, 1 week ago
2 Members
·
1
Reply
-
That verse is not telling us to completely cut off interaction between men and women. If that were the case, normal life wouldn’t even function — education, work, family life, all of it involves interaction. Islam is not designed to isolate people like that.
What the verse is actually warning against is the process that leads toward zina — meaning behaviors and situations that gradually pull a person in that direction. That’s also what the hadith you mentioned is explaining. It’s not saying every interaction is zina, but showing how things can escalate step by step if a person is careless.
So the real issue is not interaction itself, but how that interaction is carried out.
Talking to the opposite gender, studying together, working together — none of this is inherently wrong. In fact, these are normal and necessary parts of life, and Islam never said to avoid them completely. The focus is on maintaining: respect, clarity and boundaries.
Allah has given every human being control over their impulses and desires. We are not forced into wrongdoing just because interaction exists. Our actions are within our control.So the principle becomes: Interaction is allowed but losing control within that interaction is the problem
If things are kept: respectful, non-sexualized, within clear limits then it does not fall under “going near zina.”
But if interaction turns into: flirtation, suggestive behavior, emotional or physical intimacy that keeps escalating then that’s where it enters the zone of “approaching zina.”
Even things like friendship or meeting before marriage depend on how they are handled. If they remain within halal boundaries and self-control, they are not automatically wrong. If they cross into something that leads further, then that’s the issue.
So Islam is not asking us to avoid people — it’s asking us to be responsible with ourselves. Allah did not forbid interaction — He forbade losing control within interaction.
Sponsor Ask Ghamidi
