Minor Children Taught by Males or Females

Question

Please advise what the appropriate age of teaching Maktab to children is? Some Ulama say that girls should not be taught by males from the age of 7, due to high levels of Fitnah. Similarly, until what age can females teach boys? It it advisable for boys and girls to attend the same Madrassah? It was mentioned that a South African Mufti wrote on the topic of sexual molestation of little girls in Madaaris and issued a Fatwa that, “It is Haraam for a male to teach girls of six years and over, even if the teacher has the countenance of a Buzrugh.” He says this age limit was mentioned by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi.

Mufti Mohammed Desai · Accepted Answer

It is best that female teachers educate girls irrespective of their age. Maulana Thanvi Rahimahullah has written that if there aren’t any female teachers, then a girl can be educated by a male teacher with the proviso that she is under nine years of age. [Re:- Kitaabun Nawaazil Pg.262 Vol.14] However, the era of Hadrat Thanvi Rahimahullah was a better era than ours and Fitnah was not widespread as it is in our times. Secondly, there is no shortage of female teachers in our generation, hence we advise that Muslim girls should be educated by female teachers only. Similarly, boys should be educated by male teachers only since there is no shortage of male teachers. The ideal situation would be to have a separate Maktab for males and a separate Maktab for females so that there is no intermingling whatsoever.

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