Womens Work, - Dought & clear, - * Should she continue working in place where she mixes with men?

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I am a muslim woman raised with basic Islamic teachings but overall in a more Western way - educated abroad in a European university, and worked thereafter in a large multinational following what is traditionally known as the "career path". This way of life has been encouraged by the parents and the lifestyle under which I have been raised. Furtheremore as my parents are no longer working I have become the financial support for the family. I am currently living alone at 31 years in a Western country where there are no Arabs or Mulsims around. And due to my Islamic upbriging find myself islolated from my surroundings as I have no interest in going to parties, bars, dating etc....
My choices are 2. To return home under the parents umbrella and settle for any work to keep me busy and if lucky find a husband. This will however mean sacrificing income at least for the short term which will be difficult for the family as well as sacrificing a very good position at the company I am in. Or alternately continue in this career path hoping that someday I will meet a good muslim man who can help me live a more mulsim way of life.
What is the isalmic point of view in such instances.
Praise be to Allaah.
The choice facing our sister is a choice between what is right and what is wrong, between what is halaal and what is haraam.
Hence we can only advise our sister to protect the best thing that she possesses, which is her religion and chastity, and to stay with her family so as to protect herself and be among those who will protect her. Perhaps Allaah will make it easy for her to find work that is acceptable according to sharee’ah, and a righteous husband. We give her the glad tidings of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better than that.” (Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani – may Allaah have mercy on him – inHijaab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah).
How many brothers and sisters have left their work– even when they were earning lots of money – leaving for the sake of Allaah after learning that the environment they were in went against Islamic rulings, then Allaah opened many ways for them and gave them a bountiful provision, and guided their hearts to something better than they had been following before.
We also want to remind our sister about her parents, and tell her that staying with them and taking care of them is much better than being apart from them. She should not pay attention to their wishes that she should do work that is not acceptable according to sharee’ah. Many people are keen for worldly things, and they do not pay attention to the forbidden and objectionable things that may surround the work their daughters and sons do.
Striving for the purpose of this transient world at the expense of one’s religion is not something that we accept for our sisters or daughters, or for the sister who is asking this question.
You should not pay any attention to the fact that this is an international company or that the salary is tempting. That does not mean anything if it also brings the wrath of Allaah. It is bad enough that you are with non-mahram men at work, let alone that you are in a country where there are no Muslims. Moreover, you may have to travel without a mahram to the kuffaar countries and stay among them. You may be living in a house on your own, which poses a danger to your religious commitment, your person and your honour, as is quite obvious. The Islamic texts indicate that it is haraam for women to mix with men, to travel without a mahram and to settle among the kuffaar.
Your idea of isolating yourself of which you speak may not last for long, because of the many temptations and the lack of help and support. The path of evil starts with one step, and if a person follows it, it may be difficult for him to think of himself and his Hereafter. By the Grace of Allaah towards you, you are seeking advice and knowledge of the Islamic rulings, so do not feel any regrets about this world. Simple things are sufficient for the one who is content with what Allaah gives him; it is greed that destroys taqwa and robs people of their common sense.
There is nothing to stop you from looking for work that is acceptable according to sharee’ah, especially since some companies now employ people at home, letting them do their work via the Internet. This may be a suitable alternative, especially for Muslim women.
We ask Allaah to guide you to that which will be beneficial for you, and to protect your religious commitment, for He is the One Who is the Guardian of that and is Able to do that. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
And Allaah knows best.

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Sacrifices, Dought & clear, - * Is it permissible to give meat fromthe udhiyah to a non-Muslim neighbour?

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Is it permissible to give meat from the udhiyah to our non-Muslim neighbours? I hope the brother can answer my question in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah, along with of the evidence. I have a Christian colleague who refuses to accept the udhiyah meat from me, and he says that is because the Bible that they have does not allow them to do that.
Praise be to Allah.
There is nothing wrong with giving meat from the udhiyah to a non-Muslim, especially if he is a relative or neighbour or is poor.
That is indicated by the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity”
[al-Mumtahinah 60:8].
Giving him some meat from the udhiyah comes under the heading of dealing justly and kindly with them, which Allah has permitted to us.
It was narrated from Mujaahid that a sheep was slaughtered for ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr by a member of his family, and when he came, he said: Did you give some to our Jewish neighbour, did you give some to our Jewish neighbour? For I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Jibreel kept urging me to treat neighbours kindly until I thought that he would make neighbours heirs.” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1943); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
Ibn Qudaamah said: It is permissible to give some of it to a disbeliever, because it is voluntary charity which may be given to non-Muslims living under Muslim rule and prisoners of war, like all other kinds of voluntary charity.
End quote fromal-Mughni(9/450)
InFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah(11/424) it says: It is permissible for us to give meat from the udhiyah to non-Muslims who have a treaty with the Muslims and to prisoners of war, and it is permissible to give it to him on the basis that he is poor, or a relative, or a neighbour, or so as to soften his heart towards Islam, because of the general meaning of the verses in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity”
[al-Mumtahinah 60:8].
And because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) to uphold ties of kinship with her mother by giving her money when she was still a mushrik at the time of the truce. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the disbeliever who is not in a state of war with us, such as one who has been granted protection by the Muslims or one who is living under Muslim rule, he may be given meat from the udhiyah, and other kinds of charity.
And Allah knows best.

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Sacrifices, Dought & clear, - * Guidelines on the definition of the household for which one udhiyah is sufficient

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I have a job and am unmarried, and I do not live with my father. Is it permissible for me to buy an udhiyah for Eid on behalf of my father, or is it essential for my father to offer the sacrifice from his own money? What about giving some of the cost to my father to help him to buy the udhiyah? I am now – praise be to Allah – able to buy the udhiyah, so do I have to offer the udhiyah on my own behalf, noting that I am still single? These questions are interconnected. May Allah reward you with good and help you in your service to Islam and the Muslims.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The scholars – apart from the Hanafis – are agreed that a man’s udhiyah is acceptable on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of his household, as it is a communal Sunnah, because of the hadeeth of Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaari (may Allah be pleased with him), who was asked: How was the udhiyah done at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)? He said: A man would offer a sheep on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of his household, and they would eat from it and give some to others until the people began to compete and it became as you see it now.
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1505); he said: It is hasan saheeh.
We have previously stated this in a number of questions on our website, such as no. 45916and 96741
Secondly:
The scholars differed concerning the definition of the household for which one udhiyah is sufficient; there are four views:
1. Those concerning whom certain conditions are met: the one who is offering the sacrifice spends on their maintenance, they are related to him, and they live with him. This is the Maaliki view.
It says inat-Taaj wa’l-Ikleel(4/364), which is a Maaliki book:
If he lives with him, is related to him and he spends on him, even if it is voluntary, then that is permissible for three reasons: being related, living in the same accommodation and spending on him. End quote.
2. Those on whose maintenance one person spends. This is the view of some of the later Shaafa‘is.
3. All the relatives of the one who is offering the sacrifice, even if he does not spend on their maintenance
4. Those who live with the one who wants to offer the sacrifice, even if they are not his relatives. This was the view of al-Khateeb ash-Sharbeeni, ash-Shihaab ar-Ramli, and al-Tablaawi among the later Shaafa‘is, but this was regarded as unlikely to be correct by al-‘Allaamah Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him).
Ash-Shihaab ar-Ramli (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Can the Sunnah of offering the udhiyah be done on behalf of a group of people who live in one house, but they are not related to one another, if one of them offers an udhiyah?
He replied:
Yes it can. Some of the later scholars said that this is applicable if one of them is spending on the rest. End quote fromFataawa ar-Ramli(4/67)
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It may be that what is meant is his relatives, both men and women.
Or it may be that what is meant by members of a household here is those who maintenance is spent on by one person, even if that is voluntary.
The words of Abu Ayyoob, “A man would offer a sheep on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of his household” may be interpreted in both ways.
Or it may be that what is meant is the apparent meaning, which is that they live in one house and share the amenities, even if they are not related to one another. Some of the scholars stated this definitively, but it is far-fetched.
End quote fromTuhfat al-Muhtaaj(9/345)
To sum up, it is prescribed for the older son who lives in a house on his own, separate from his father, to offer a sacrifice on his own behalf, and his father’s sacrifice is not valid for him because the son – now – is not one of the members of his father’s household, rather he is the head of a separate household.
But if the son voluntarily helps his father with the price of the udhiyah, then he will attain the reward, in sha Allah, but it will be the reward of voluntary charity, not the reward of udhiyah.
And Allah knows best.

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Sacrifices, Dought & clear, - * Ruling on one who offers an udhiyah but does not pray

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What is the ruling on one who offers an udhiyah but does not pray; is that right?
Praise be to Allah.
In the answers to questions no. 5208 and 9400 we stated that not praying constitutes kufr that puts one beyond the pale of Islam. Based on that, any good deed done by one who does not pray will not benefit him and will not be accepted from him.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said:
With regard to fasting when one does not pray, it is of no value or benefit, and it is not valid if one does not pray. No matter what other acts of obedience a person may do, they will not benefit him so long as he does not pray, because the one who does not pray is a kaafir, and the good deeds of the kaafir are not accepted from him. So there is no benefit in fasting if one does not pray. End quote.
Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan(39/16)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If a person fasts but does not pray, no fasting will be accepted from him, because he is a kaafir and an apostate, and no zakaah, charity or any other righteous deeds will be accepted from him, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from them except that they disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)); and that they came not to As-Salat (the prayer) except in a lazy state; and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly”
[at-Tawbah 9:54].
If their contributions – which refers to benefitting others – are not accepted from the disbelievers, then it is more appropriate that acts of worship, the benefit which is limited only to the doer, should not be accepted either. Based on that, the one who fasts but does not pray is a kaafir, Allah forbid, and his fasting is invalid. Likewise, none of his righteous deeds will be accepted from him. End quote.
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darbby Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (124/32).
If the one who does not pray wants to offer an udhiyah, then he has to repent to Allah, first of all, for not praying. If he does not do that, and he persists in his ways, then he will not be rewarded for that sacrifice and it will not be accepted from him. If he does the slaughtering himself, then it comes under the heading of maytah (“dead meat”, from an animal that was found dead) and it is not permissible to eat from it, because meat slaughtered by an apostate comes under the heading of maytah and is haraam.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If a man who does not pray slaughters an animal, that meat cannot be eaten. Why? Because it is haraam. But if a Jew or a Christian slaughters an animal, that meat is permissible for us to eat. So the meat slaughtered by (the one who does not pray) – Allah forbid – is more unclean than meat slaughtered by the Jews and Christians.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(12/45)
And Allah knows best.

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