Is it a condition that the female servant be Muslim, and likewise the male servant?
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The questioner : Is the Islam of the female servant one of the conditions?
The Shaykh : The Islam of the female servant is not one of the conditions, but it is not befitting for a person to bring in a male or female servant who is not Muslim, nor a non-Muslim worker. You know, in this time, and since a recent period, you know of the fierce attack by the enemies of the Muslims upon the Muslims. In this era, when the Muslims began to move, young men and old men, and even elders, the attacks of the Christians, the Jews, and the polytheists upon the Muslims have increased. Perhaps you hear on the radio more than I do; you find the astonishing things. How has the attack of the disbelievers upon the Muslims increased at this time? Why? Because they want the Muslims to have no standing. Some of their leaders have explicitly stated: "Even if we finish with communism, we will not finish with the fundamentalists." What do they mean by fundamentalists? Those who hold fast to their religion; these are the fundamentalists. But they cannot express it with the word "Islam," because the word Islam terrifies their greatest and their least. So they said "fundamentalists," meaning those who return to the origin. And the word "fundamentals," in its broad meaning, includes even the disbelieving fundamentalist. The disbelieving fanatic is a fundamentalist to his school and his creed. So these people chose the expression "fundamentals" over the word "Islam," over the word "Islam," so that it would not terrify them. But with the help of Allah, victory is for Islam, whether the time is near or far. And Allah the Exalted, if He facilitates for this Ummah reforming leaders, active youth, and a call to the truth in word, belief, and action, then Allah the Exalted has guaranteed their victory[Ghafir 40:51] Yes, the important thing is that I call upon you not to bring in a non-Muslim except in a case of dire necessity. If the non-Muslims have specializations that the Muslims do not have, and we are compelled to this, they may come. But without need, it is absolutely not befitting, under any circumstances, that we bring in a non-Muslim and leave the Muslim. Yes.
The Shaykh : The Islam of the female servant is not one of the conditions, but it is not befitting for a person to bring in a male or female servant who is not Muslim, nor a non-Muslim worker. You know, in this time, and since a recent period, you know of the fierce attack by the enemies of the Muslims upon the Muslims. In this era, when the Muslims began to move, young men and old men, and even elders, the attacks of the Christians, the Jews, and the polytheists upon the Muslims have increased. Perhaps you hear on the radio more than I do; you find the astonishing things. How has the attack of the disbelievers upon the Muslims increased at this time? Why? Because they want the Muslims to have no standing. Some of their leaders have explicitly stated: "Even if we finish with communism, we will not finish with the fundamentalists." What do they mean by fundamentalists? Those who hold fast to their religion; these are the fundamentalists. But they cannot express it with the word "Islam," because the word Islam terrifies their greatest and their least. So they said "fundamentalists," meaning those who return to the origin. And the word "fundamentals," in its broad meaning, includes even the disbelieving fundamentalist. The disbelieving fanatic is a fundamentalist to his school and his creed. So these people chose the expression "fundamentals" over the word "Islam," over the word "Islam," so that it would not terrify them. But with the help of Allah, victory is for Islam, whether the time is near or far. And Allah the Exalted, if He facilitates for this Ummah reforming leaders, active youth, and a call to the truth in word, belief, and action, then Allah the Exalted has guaranteed their victory