Şerhin Aynasında Harem – Selamlık

Through the Lens of Hadith Commentary
Seclusion and the Reconfiguration of Privacy in Islam
This study examines how the interaction between men and women and
the practices of seclusion were interpreted throughout history particularly
through the hadith commentaries. The ways in which hadiths were
interpreted were a decisive factor not only in shaping religious rulings
but also in shaping social dynamics. In this context, the study traces the
transformation of religious perceptions regarding womenʼs position in
the public sphere over time through a text-centered reading.
It is known that women played an active role in social life in early Islamic
society and that the Prophet encouraged this participation. However,
in later centuries, especially from the 6th century AH onwards, a
more rigid understanding of privacy emerged in parallel with changes
in the social structure. This approach, which limited women’s visibility
in public, was legitimized, particularly through the interpretations of
hadiths. Imam Malik’s (d. 179/795) moderate stance, which allowed
women to be in the company of men within the framework of custom,
and Ibn Baṭṭāl’s (d. 449/1057) moderate stance, which did not reduce
communication between women and men to fitna, shed light on the
attitudes towards seclusion in the early periods. However, in later periods,
the emphasis on seclusion took center stage in al-Minhāj by al-
Nawawî (d. 676/1277); with Fatḥ al-Bārī by Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852/1449)
and ʿUmdat al-Qārī by al-ʿAynī (d. 855/1451), this understanding became
an institutional religious paradigm.
In conclusion, this study demonstrates that hadith commentaries not
only explain the texts but also play an active role in shaping religious
and social perceptions. In this regard, it is concluded that strict interpretations
of the harem-selamlik issue are a product of late-period social
conditions rather than early Islamic practice. Therefore, absolute
interpretations detached from their historical context do not fully reflect
the Islamic understanding of the early period.
Keywords: Gender Segregation in Islam; Concept of Privacy; Hadith
Commentaries; Gender Interaction; History of Islamic Thought