A woman asks: I have a job outside my city, and so do my older brothers, and my parents are advanced in age. We brought them a maid out of necessity, and she is without a mahram.

The questioner : The questioner says: Your Eminence, as you know, maids are widespread everywhere, and there are several reasons for their presence. I have a job outside my city, and so do my older brothers, and my father and mother are advanced in age. We brought them a maid out of necessity, and she is without a mahram. What is the ruling on that?

The Shaykh : This is not permissible; that is, it is not permissible for a person to bring in a maid without a mahram, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the maid is a woman, and there is no evidence to exclude her from this general ruling. Some people find it difficult to bring her mahram with her and say: He has no work for me? We say to him: Even if he has no work for you, he must be with his wife, or his sister, or his aunt, or his maternal aunt. You can find him work by taking care of your market errands that you need from the market. And if he is good at driving, he can be your driver. The important thing is that if you find him work, that is what is required. And if you do not find work for him, his work is the work of the woman who came with him as her mahram.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.