What is the ruling if a wife insists on bringing in a maid?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. The question

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. The question is that my wife is negligent in her duties toward her home, her husband, and her children, excusing herself by saying she wants a maid. Should I grant her wish? Or should I marry a second wife without her knowledge?

The Shaykh : By Allah, this is the best. The issue of domestic workers has now become a social problem. People have started competing and boasting about them, asking who has the most maids? Everyone wants to have one maid, or two, or one male servant, or two, for the sake of boasting, competition, and showing off, and this may be without need. Yet the presence of these male or female servants sometimes leads to harm. A maid may be beautiful and young, and the head of the household may be attracted to her, and the head of the household’s sons may also be attracted to her, especially the young men. Satan flows through the son of Adam like blood, and he beautifies his evil deeds for him. You find a man who has a wife who is among the most beautiful and young of women, but when he brings in this maid, who may be a married woman with children, he beautifies her in his heart until he commits a sin with her. This is something that, since I receive questions and inquiries about various matters, I hear things that would turn one’s hair white regarding the trials caused by these servants. This is not only regarding the male servant who sees the private parts of the household and the women, but also the maid who tempts the head of the household, his sons, or his brothers. I see that it is obligatory for us to guide one another on this topic, and that we should not allow a maid to be brought in except in cases of extreme necessity, and on the condition that her mahram (a relative one may not marry) is with her. If she does not have a mahram with her, we do not bring her in because of the trial involved.
As for the questioner’s question, where his wife insists on finding a maid, the remedy is for him to say, “Why should I bring in a maid?” She will say, “Because there is a lot of work in the house, and I have children, and perhaps she is studying or teaching.” He says, “Praise be to Allah, we will bring you a sister in Islam to marry, to protect you from trial and evil. Yes, she will be with you, and we will establish companionship and friendship between you two. Will you still choose the maid after that? No, she will say, ‘Praise be to Allah, I am energetic, the children do not tire me, and the lessons are a distraction. I can sit and correct them whenever I want, and there is no need. Also, you see that if I bring in a maid, there is trial. Look at so-and-so the maid, and what happened to her, and what happened to her, and so on. We do not want a maid. Keep her away from me.’ This is the remedy for the woman who treats her husband so that he does not bring in a servant.
And in reality, it is a beneficial remedy for the man, because the more wives he has, the better it is. If a man is able to fulfill his obligations, plural marriage is better than restricting himself to one. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) was the one among this Ummah (the Muslim community) with the most women. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commands us to marry the loving and fertile woman for the sake of having many children, then we also seek to have many children through plural marriage, if a man is able to fulfill their obligations of financial maintenance and justice. But a person might say, “If I bring in a wife, there will be problems between her and the first wife.” We say, “Bring in a third.” And if you bring in a third, the conflict between the first two becomes easier, as is observed. For this reason, those with three wives say it is easier and more comfortable than those with two. If a conflict arises among the three, we bring in a fourth. In any case, we say that this issue is among the best in its remedy: the husband should say to his wife if she insists on asking for a servant, “I will bring you a sister in Islam to protect you from the evil of the servant and to help you with the demands of the house.” Yes, indeed.