What is the ruling on hiring maids without a mahram?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. What is the ruling on hiring a maid without a mahram to work in the house and travel with the family, while obliging her to wear the Islamic hijab inside and outside the house? We ask you to give us advice, as this is very common?
The Shaykh : Yes, what I see is that it is not permissible for a woman to be hired without a mahram, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 1862. And there is no difference between this woman and the mistress of the house except that she is poor and has come seeking a livelihood, so she falls under the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 9:2565. How much calamity and misfortune has occurred due to bringing in a woman without a mahram, especially if the one who hired her lives with his young male children; for the fitnah, if it is not certain to occur, is likely to occur by the preponderance of probability.
Therefore, we advise first not to hire maids, and not to let luxury reach the point where you find women in the house who are capable of doing the service, yet they insist on having maids come. Then the maid comes, and the woman has no work in the house, so she is overcome by intrusive thoughts, anxieties, and apathy, and she remains in reality like a statue in the house. But if the mistress of the house were to work and dispense with the maid, that would be better for her body, more sufficient for her husband's wealth, and safer from the feared dire consequences. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, what I see is that it is not permissible for a woman to be hired without a mahram, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
A woman should not travel except with a Dhu-Mahram
لا تسافر المرأة إلا مع ذي محرمA woman should not travel except with a mahram
لا تسافر امرأة إلا مع ذي محرمTherefore, we advise first not to hire maids, and not to let luxury reach the point where you find women in the house who are capable of doing the service, yet they insist on having maids come. Then the maid comes, and the woman has no work in the house, so she is overcome by intrusive thoughts, anxieties, and apathy, and she remains in reality like a statue in the house. But if the mistress of the house were to work and dispense with the maid, that would be better for her body, more sufficient for her husband's wealth, and safer from the feared dire consequences. Yes.