The ruling on employing a disbeliever for domestic service inside and outside the home
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Your Eminence! One of my neighbors has a large family; he has sons, some of whom are married, and they all reside in one house along with his wife, his children, and their wives. He has a worker who works both inside and outside the house. When I advised him, he argued that he cannot hire a female servant for fear of the sons. Please note that this worker is a disbeliever. Finally, he asked me to ask you about this issue, saying: I will follow the fatwa of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen. So what do you rule? May Allah reward you with good.
I say: If it were not for a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in which 'Ali ibn Abi Talib asked al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger answered, I would not have answered you. What is preventing him from coming to me?The questioner: I took my statement with him, and he said: Get a fatwa from the Shaykh.
The Shaykh: In any case, tell him: I asked him, and he says: He should bring a female servant with a mahram (a relative one may not marry). The female servant should be in the house, and the male mahram should be for his needs, either as a driver or to bring things from the market or the like. This is safer for his religion and his honor. Then, if he wants to bring a female servant as I have described, let her be Muslim. Her husband will be Muslim if the wife is Muslim; because the disbelievers are the enemies of Allah and His Messenger, and they are our enemies as well, so we do not feel safe with them. For this reason, when Abu Musa al-Ash'ari wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him to appoint a Christian as a scribe to account for the public treasury, and Abu Musa praised him, or perhaps it was Khalid ibn al-Walid, I do not remember now,'Umar sent to him and said: do not give him authority;Because Allah said: [Al Imran:118] So he sent to him a second time and said: This man is good, and we do not find anyone like him,So 'Umar wrote to him: the Christian is dead, and peace.
One word,What is the meaning of: The Christian is dead?Meaning: Suppose he died, would our affairs be suspended? In reality, the disbelievers are not to be trusted.
And tell him: He should greet you and say: May Allah reward him with good. He should bring a Muslim female servant for the house, and with her her mahram to work in the market.
The questioner: What about the servant he has?
The Shaykh: Praise be to Allah, it is not a problem; he should return to his country.
I say: If it were not for a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in which 'Ali ibn Abi Talib asked al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger answered, I would not have answered you. What is preventing him from coming to me?The questioner: I took my statement with him, and he said: Get a fatwa from the Shaykh.
The Shaykh: In any case, tell him: I asked him, and he says: He should bring a female servant with a mahram (a relative one may not marry). The female servant should be in the house, and the male mahram should be for his needs, either as a driver or to bring things from the market or the like. This is safer for his religion and his honor. Then, if he wants to bring a female servant as I have described, let her be Muslim. Her husband will be Muslim if the wife is Muslim; because the disbelievers are the enemies of Allah and His Messenger, and they are our enemies as well, so we do not feel safe with them. For this reason, when Abu Musa al-Ash'ari wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him to appoint a Christian as a scribe to account for the public treasury, and Abu Musa praised him, or perhaps it was Khalid ibn al-Walid, I do not remember now,'Umar sent to him and said: do not give him authority;Because Allah said:
do not take as intimates those other than yourselves, for they will not spare you [any] ruin
لا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِنْ دُونِكُمْ لا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالاًOne word,What is the meaning of: The Christian is dead?Meaning: Suppose he died, would our affairs be suspended? In reality, the disbelievers are not to be trusted.
And tell him: He should greet you and say: May Allah reward him with good. He should bring a Muslim female servant for the house, and with her her mahram to work in the market.
The questioner: What about the servant he has?
The Shaykh: Praise be to Allah, it is not a problem; he should return to his country.