Interaction with the opposite gender at work
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Assalamu alaikum dear sisters and brothers,
I am facing a serious problem in my workplace which is driving me crazy.
There is a young man in my office with whom nothing has happened whatsoever, but I am terrified of committing sins or bad deeds because of him.I am an outgoing and social young woman, who likes to interact with other people with a smile and jovial mood. With my peers (like this guy in my office), I tend to be friendly for example, if he makes a joke, I laugh (not very loud, but I do laugh), or when he plays a song that I like, I turn around and say 'Hey!! I love that song!". And I do not know why, but he always tries to make me laugh he makes funny faces, he says lame jokes, he makes fun of me, until I laugh. I am 99.9% sure he does not think of me in a romantic way and he himself is just trying to be friendly in his own way.
I am aware that this is not be the best way a Muslim woman should behave, and I am working on myself, but to be honest, it is very difficult for me to change 180 degrees and stop being "friendly", or "social". What is the solution to my dilemma?
Please help me!! Am I committing any sin with my personality? I swear I do not do it on purpose, nor do I have the intention of flirting with anybody, especially my coworker.
Do I have to completely shunt him out of my daily life? I need his help in some of my job tasks, and we both occupy the same office, so if I start not answering his comments all of a sudden he may think that I am mad at him for some reason, and this may affect our performance at work.
I beg of you, please help me out, I'm desperate... what should I do? -
I don't see any issue with being civil/friendly towards a work colleague, be they male or female.
I do not recall anything in Quran forbidding such, or negativity towards such interaction.
Some background
https//misconceptions-about-islam.com/misconception.php?id=8
