The Ruling on Employing a Foreign Female Servant Without a Mahram

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: What is the ruling on employing a foreign female servant without a mahram, whether she is Muslim, from the People of the Book, or a polytheist?

Answer:
It is not permissible to employ a disbeliever. It is not permissible to employ a disbeliever, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the Jews and Christians to be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, and those other than the Jews and Christians are even more so; the polytheists and mushriks are even more so. Therefore, it is not permissible to employ disbelieving women. As for the Muslim woman, it is permissible for her to serve in the house without a mahram. However, this is regarding travel; she does not travel without a mahram. But if she is present in the house and serves in the house, that is not travel. If she adheres to the Islamic etiquette and observes hijab from men, there is no harm in her presence in the house and her serving there. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you