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Last Update: 04:16 GMT, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

Living Shari`ah > Fatwa Bank

 

Question and Answer Details

Name of Questioner

Huda   - United States

Title

Can a Muslim Woman Go to Public Swimming Pools?

Question

Dear Sheikh, As-Salaam `Alaykum. I am a Muslim girl living in the United States and I like swimming, so is it Halal (lawful) for me to swim in a public pool with long, wide clothes or not?

Date

08/Aug/2002

Topic

Mixing, Social Manners, Sports & Games

Answer

Wa`alykum As-Salamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear sister in Islam, first and foremost, we commend your interest in getting yourself well-acquainted with the teachings of Islam. May Allah keep us all firm in the straight Path, Ameen!

It’s the duty of the committed Muslim woman to set a good example in morality and good ethics for all people. Being a Muslim living in the West doesn’t make difference in this regard. So, it’s your duty to preserve your dignity and honor by compliance with the teachings of Islam.

Answering the question you posed, Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi, Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:

"Giving the fact that such swimming pool involves opposite sexes, and with the fact no one can conceive that there exists swimming suits for women that do not stick to their bodies when they get wet and cover all their bodies save the face and hands, then the original rule that women are not permitted to swim in public swimming pools is still in effect.

Muslim women in Western countries should demand separate swimming pools for women. They have succeeded in this in some German cities where separate swimming pools have been designed for women at specific times.

Therefore, in all Western countries, Muslim women should ask for this. If this demand was not achieved, a Muslim woman is not allowed to swim in public and mixed swimming pools."

Now, it becomes crystal clear that a Muslim woman isn’t allowed to swim in public and mixed swimming pools, while she can swim in a women-only swimming pool where men are not allowed.

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, adds:

“So long as you’re swimming with women and wearing clothes that cover your `Awrah properly, you’re allowed to do so.

It goes without saying that Islam does not allow men and women swimming together, hence the issue of public swimming pool for both men and women is totally rejected in Islam."

Allah Almighty knows best.

 

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