Question: Tayyib (good) Oh Shaikh- the Hadith from the Prophet (ﷺ):
نهى أنْ يَبِيتَ الرَّجُل وحده، أو يُسافِر وحَدَه
He prohibited for a man to sleep alone or to travel alone
[Silsilatus-Saheeha no. 60]
If a group of students are in University housing (Dorms) with every person in a room, [does that] enter within the prohibition or not?
Shaikh: It does if he has a family. So if he does not have a family, so then what does he do?
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا
Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope [2:286]
The legislated ruling is always contingent on capability. So for example: a man has a wife, then he does not sleep far away from her. She does not sleep far away from him.
Shaikh: Clear?
Questioner: Clear.
Shaikh: As for what you have depicted: a student of knowledge has a specific room for himself and the others like that. So if the school’s system is like that, in that each student sleeps in his room and sometimes some behavior/ethical problems occur if there is not between them sanctity.
[Fataawa ar-Raabigh no. 6]
Translated by Faisal ibn Abdul Qaadir ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
