Is it permissible for the head of the household to look at the maid, for her to uncover her face for him, and likewise for his children, and to be alone with her in the house?

The questioner : These are a collection of questions on roughly the same topic. A questioner says: Many people today are afflicted by the presence of maids in their homes. Is it permissible for the head of the household to look at her, for her to uncover her face for him, and likewise for his children, and even to be alone with her in the house, or to leave her with one of his children in the house while he, his wife, and the son of pubescent age are present? Usually, the maid is a young woman, adorned in the best clothes and the best appearance. What is your advice regarding this affliction, whose danger and implications for youth and the decline of morals are not hidden from you? Also, in the same context, the honorable Shaykh says: There are some committed individuals, and some in whom we suspect righteousness, who bring a maid or a worker without a mahram, and they know the ruling regarding bringing her without a mahram. When they bring her here, they do not oblige her to wear the Islamic hijab, which is covering her face, not from him and not from his children in the house. But when she leaves the house, they order her to wear the hijab. If they advise her, why does she not cover her face? She says, "I am a worker; how can I work and do my job while wearing the hijab?" What is the ruling on that? Also, close to the topic, it is asked: If a person is compelled to bring a maid because his wife is in need of one, as she has four small children, the oldest of whom does not exceed seven years of age, is it permissible for him to do so, or is it forbidden upon him? We ask for the answer.

The Shaykh : This is a very important question. It concerns the affliction people have faced due to the ease of obtaining servants, because of the abundance of wealth and the need of these servants to come to these lands. This affliction is one by which Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has tested people to see how they will act. In the time of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), Allah made hunting easy for them while they were in the state of ihram, even though hunting is forbidden for one in ihram. Their hands would reach it, and their spears would reach it; their spears would hit birds, and their hands would catch crawling animals like gazelles and rabbits. In this, Allah the Exalted said: . These servants have been made easy for us to obtain, and some people bring them not out of need, but for showing off, so that a woman goes out with her servant or maid behind her, with a bag hanging from her hand—I mean the servant’s hand. Then when she stops at a store, she says, "O so-and-so, bring us this, bring us this," showing off, even though the house does not need it. And despite this affliction, this servant is brought without a mahram. She may be a beautiful young woman, and the man may leave his house with only his young son or his young unmarried brother in it. What do you think of his being alone with such a maid? Even if he is on a high level of piety, Satan flows through the son of Adam like blood. Perhaps he will incite him and make promises to him, and what Satan promises them is nothing but delusion. Therefore, I see that it is not permissible to bring a servant except under certain conditions. The first condition is the dire necessity of her presence, the dire necessity of her presence, like the example mentioned by the questioner: a woman who has no one in the house but her and four small children. What can she do? If these small children enter the bathroom while they are outside the bathroom, and they will be outside the bathroom, it becomes a danger to them. It becomes a danger to them; perhaps they will play with fire, perhaps some will hit others, perhaps they will do things. So this is a dire necessity. Therefore, there must be a dire necessity; without it, it is not allowed, because using her without necessity is a waste of money, and it is a cause of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). The second condition is that her mahram be with her, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . But regarding this condition, some people may say, "I have no need for her mahram, and I have no place for her mahram. The house has no annex, and I do not have another apartment or another house. I cannot fulfill this condition." We say: If you truly cannot fulfill it, it is possible to hire a woman from the country to fulfill your need during the day, and she goes to her house at night. But bringing her from abroad is not allowed. The third condition is that he feels safe from fitnah regarding himself and his family. If he does not feel safe from fitnah, it is not permissible to bring her. The evidence that fear of the prohibited is a cause for prohibition is the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Polygamy is forbidden if one fears not being just, and injustice is the occurrence of the prohibited. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, made clear that a permissible thing, if the prohibited is feared from it, becomes forbidden. Therefore, a person must feel safe for himself and his family from the fitnah of this maid. The fourth condition is that he obliges her to cover herself as required by the Shari'ah. He must oblige her to cover herself as required by the Shari'ah. The greatest thing that must be covered, and the most obligatory and most deserving thing to be covered, is the face, because the face is the place of fitnah and the place of desire. When a woman is proposed to, only her face is asked about. If the rest of her limbs were the most beautiful and best limbs, but her face was ugly, no one would propose to her. And if her face was beautiful and she had a defect or some lack of beauty in the rest of her limbs, she would be proposed to. So if the face is the place of desire and the focus of fitnah, it is obligatory to cover it. As for the questioner’s statement that if she covers her face, how can she work? We say: Are you always with her in the house? Are you with her in the kitchen? Are you with her in the parlor? No. You are not with her except when she comes for lunch or dinner or breakfast. In this case, she comes with her face covered, or with a patch on her face, or with a niqab (face veil) on her face. This is possible and not difficult. And likewise, he must prevent being alone with her, because being alone with a woman who is not a mahram is forbidden, so it is not permissible for him to be alone with her in the house. And it is not permissible for him to allow her to be alone with any of his sons. If the conditions are met, it is permissible to bring her. If they are not met, bringing her is forbidden. Do not be deceived, O human being, by Allah’s delay in giving you health, wealth, and provision while you persist in His disobedience, for that is only a lure. If you see Allah bestowing blessings on a servant while he persists in His disobedience, that is a lure from Allah for him. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.