Womens Work, - Dought & clear, - * Is it permissible fora woman to work selling products over the phone?

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There are foreign companies in Morocco which also own companies in the west. These companies that are in Morocco offer customer service for the companies that are in the west over the phone, whereby western customers contact the companies in Morocco to ask questions or the company contacts customers who are obviously in the west – Europe – to sell their products over the phone, and the employee attempts to convince the person to buy. The companies market various products and services such as mobile phones, internet, insurance, computers and so on.
These companies have started to increase rapidly, and young men – and even young women – are clamouring to join them as they pay a good salary. The government is also helping with that. Please note that fitnah is widespread in these companies, such as uncovering of women.
What is the ruling on working for them? Is it halaal or haraam?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible for a man or a woman to work in places where women mix with men. The evils of mixing are many. It is one of the most effective ways used by the shaytaan to make the Muslim fall into sin and immorality. Hence Islam blocks the ways that may cause a Muslim to fall into anything haraam.
We have discussed the prohibition on mixing in the answer to question no. 1200, where we mention incidents of female workers who have been exposed to annoyance and harassment. This confirms that the Islamic prohibition on mixing is what will protect a woman’s modesty and chastity, and it is what protects a man from allowing his gaze to wander, and protects him from bad consequences.
There is no reason why a woman should not work if she is with other women like her, or she is alone and answers calls from customers or calls them to offer the company’s products, so long as she observes proper etiquette when speaking and does not speak in an alluring tone to men, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allaah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner”
[al-Ahzaab 33:32]
And Allaah knows best.

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Womens Work, - Dought & clear, - * Ruling on appointing a woman as a judge

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Is it permissible for a woman to be a judge?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The majority of scholars are of the view that it is not permissible for a woman to be appointed as a judge, and if she is appointed, the one who appointed her is sinning, and her appointment is invalid, and her judgements carry no weight, no matter what ruling she passes. This is the view of the Maalikis, Shaafa’is and Hanbalis, and of some of the Hanafis.
See:Bidaayat al-Mujtahid(2/531);al-Majmoo’(20/127);al-Mughni(11/350).
They quoted a number of texts as evidence for that:
1 –Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allaah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means”
[al-Nisa’ 4:34]
So the men are the protectors and maintainers of women, in the sense that they are in charge of them. So the verse may be understood as meaning that women cannot be appointed in charge, otherwise women would be the protectors and maintainers of men, which is the opposite of what the verse says.
2 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them”
[al-Baqarah 2:228]
Allaah has granted men a degree over women ,and if a woman were to be appointed as judge that would contradict the degree that Allaah has given men in this verse, because in order for a judge to judge between two disputants, he must have a degree over them.
3 – It was narrated that Abu Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard that the people of Persia had appointed the daughter of Chosroes as their ruler, he said: “No people will ever prosper who appoint a woman in charge of their affairs.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4425).
The fuqaha’ quoted this verse as evidence that it is not permissible to appoint a woman as a judge, because lack of prospering is a kind of harm, the causes of which must be avoided. The hadeeth is general in meaning and applies to all positions of public authority. So it is not permissible to appoint a woman, because the word “affairs” is general in meaning and includes all the public affairs of the Muslims.
Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There is no stern warning greater than stating that they will never prosper, and the most important issue is to rule according to the rulings of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, and therefore this warning applies more emphatically to women. End quote.
Al-Sayl al-Jaraar(4/273)
The Fatwa Committee of al-Azhar said:
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not intend by this hadeeth only to state that the people who appoint a woman in charge of their affairs will not prosper, because his task was to explain everything that is permissible for his ummah, so that they may succeed and prosper, and everything that is not permissible for them so that they may be safe from evil and loss. Rather he intended to forbid his ummah from imitating those people (the Persians) by delegating any of their public affairs to a woman, and he used this incident to convey this message to the people who were keen to be prosperous so that they would comply with this advice. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used definitive language to state that lack of prosperity is inevitable when a woman is appointed in charge of any affairs. Undoubtedly the prohibition that is derived from this hadeeth applies to any woman in any era; women are not to be appointed to positions of public authority. This general meaning is understood from the wording of the hadeeth. End quote.
4 – Moreover, the nature of woman means that a woman should not be appointed to a position of public authority.
The Fatwa Committee of al-Azhar said, after mentioning the arguments based on the hadeeth:
This ruling is based on this hadeeth, which is that the ruling that women should not be appointed to positions of public authority is not a ruling which is to be followed as a religious ritual without necessarily understanding the wisdom behind it, rather it is one of the rulings that are based on reasons which are obvious to those who understand the differences between the two types of human beings, men and women. This ruling is not connected to anything other than the femininity which is indicated by the word “woman” in the hadeeth. So femininity alone is the reason. … Because of her nature, woman is designed to fulfil the mission for which she was created, which is the role of mother and caring for and raising children. This means that she is likely to be affected by emotion. In addition to that she is faced with natural events that happen repeatedly over the months and years, which may weaken her strength and resolve in forming opinions and adhering to them and in fighting for them. This is something which women themselves cannot deny, and we do not need to quote examples and evidence to prove the emotional nature of woman throughout the ages. End quote.
5 – Practical experience in some countries indicates that women are not fit to play the role of judge. When Islam forbade women to be appointed to positions of public authority, it brought something that would protect people’s rights and ward off corruption, which is something that is not understood by those who are short-sighted.
In one of the Muslim countries the Ministry of Justice opened the door for talented women to become judges, but after five years they dismissed all of these female judges and banned women from entering the graduate school for judges because of their failure despite the opportunities they had for learning and training, and despite the fact that they got higher grades than the men in the theoretical field.
In another Muslim country women were given the opportunity to become judges, but after they failed the state had to remove them from the courts to the technical and research fields.
This indicates that women are not qualified to be judges.
6 – The judge is required to be present among men’s gatherings and to mix with disputants and witnesses, and may need to be alone with them. Islam seeks to protect women and preserve their honour and dignity, and protect them from those who would toy with them. So Islam tells women to stay in their homes and not go out except in cases of necessity. And it forbids them from mixing with men and being alone with them, because that poses a threat to women and their honour.
7 – The position of judge requires a high level of intelligence, insight and reason, and women have less of these qualities than men, and they have little experience in the affairs of life and disputes.
In addition to that, women are faced with natural phenomena during certain days, months and years, namely menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding etc, which weakens their bodies and affects their understanding of things, which is incompatible with the position and status of a judge.

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Womens Work, - Dought & clear, - * Salaryfrom Unlawful Work

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For about six years I used to work in factories related to foreign companies. Men and women were mixing and of course we talked and joked together and saw haram (impermissible) things happening between men and women, especially during the night shifts. I was receiving my salary monthly. I left this work about two years ago. But I still have some things I bought using those salaries, like a sewing machine I bought to sew women’s clothes. I did not care if they were modest clothes or not. I used to just sew whatever they asked me for. Now I have repented to Allah, the Exalted, and stopped doing this.
My question is: what is the ruling on the salary I received from this work? And what is the ruling on the things I bought using that money? What shall I do regarding those things, like the sewing machine, some gold and some furniture?
Please guide me to Allah’s satisfaction. I want my repentance to be totally pure.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
We praise Allah for having guided you to repent, for the best thing that a person can do in this world is to turn sincerely to Allah. When Allah wills good for a person, He opens the door to humility for him, and makes him see his faults, ignorance, wrongdoing and transgression of His limits, and softens his heart so that he may repent, pray for forgiveness and regret his sins and shortcomings.
Your work in a mixed environment and manufacturing and producing things that may be used in haram ways was one of the haram things which are forbidden by Islamic sharee’ah (law) so as to protect religious commitment and to protect Muslim societies, in adherence to the limits set by Allah, so as to venerate His laws and in acknowledgement of His might, may He be glorified and exalted.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Wabil al-Sayyib:
As for the signs of being serious about keeping away from forbidden things, they are: keeping away from things that could lead to them, and avoiding all means of drawing close to them, such as the one who flees from places in which there are images that lead to fitnah (temptation), for fear of being tempted by them, and giving up things with which there is nothing wrong for fear of things that are wrong, and avoiding excessive indulgence in permissible things for fear of falling into that which is makrooh (disliked), and avoiding people who commit sin openly or regard it as good and promote it and take it lightly and do not care about what they do of sin. Mixing with such people is likely to incur the wrath and anger of Allah, so no one mixes with them except the one whose heart is lacking in respect for Allah and His sacred limits. End quote.
Secondly:
Sewing immodest women’s clothes – for those who will wear them for sinful purposes and use them to cause fitnah (temptation) – is a haram action, because it is helping with evil. What the Muslim must do is respect the sacred limits of Allah and not accept to be a means of Allah being disobeyed or agree to be one of the helpers and troops of the shaytan (devil).
Ibn Taymiyah said in Sharh al-‘Umdah:
For any garment that it is thought will be likely to be used for sinful purposes, it is not permissible to sell it or sew it for the one who will use it for sinful purposes. The same applies to everything that is basically permissible, if it is known that it will be used for sinful purposes. End quote.
He also said, in Majmoo’ al-Fatawa:
If he helps a man to disobey Allah then he is sinning, because he has helped in sin and transgression. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed alcohol, the one who squeezes (the grapes, etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who pours it, the one who drinks it and the one who consumes its price.
Most of these people, such as the one who squeezes (the grapes, etc), the one who carries it and the one who pours it are helping in drinking it. Hence it is forbidden to sell weapons to one who will use them in unlawful fighting, such as fighting the Muslims or fighting in fitnah (civil war). End quote.
Ibn Hazm said in al-Muhalla:
It is not permissible to sell anything to someone who will certainly use it to disobey Allah and the transaction is null and void. For exampe, such as selling anything that may be squeezed or pressed to one who will certainly use it to make alcohol, or selling a slave to one who will certainly mistreat his slaves, or selling weapons or horses to one who will certainly use them for aggression against the Muslims, or selling silk to one (a man) who will certainly wear it, and so on with regard to all things, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment.”
[5:2]
The transactions that we have mentioned are obviously helping in sin and transgression, and annulling them is helping in righteousness and piety. If no such thing is certain then the transaction is valid, because it is not helping in sin, and if the purchaser disobeys Allah after that, then the sin is on him. End quote.
It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah: It is not permissible to practise a profession that leads to haram or that may help in committing haram, such as tattooing, because it involves changing the creation of Allah, or recording riba (interest), because this involves helping to consume people’s wealth unlawfully, and so on. End quote.
Thirdly:
One of the conditions of repenting from haram wealth is getting rid of it, by spending it in the interests of the Muslims and on various charitable causes.
Ibn Taymiyah said in Majmoo’ al-Fatawa: The one who accepts payment for haram things, such as payment for those who carry alcohol, or payment for the one who makes a cross, or the fees of a prostitute and so on, should give it in charity and repent from that haram action, and giving that payment in charity will be an expiation for what he has done. It is not permissible to make use of these payments because they are evil wages. End quote.
It says in al-Furoo’ by Ibn Muflih: In the case of haram wealth, what must be done is repentance and getting rid of it immediately. End quote.
What you must do is work out how much you earned from sewing clothes for immodest women, then give it to the poor and needy in the hope that it will expiate your previous sins. As for the property that you have acquired from working in that factory – including the sewing machine – you do not have to get rid of it, because the reason why it is haram is not directly connected to the original work, rather it is because of the mixing that accompanied it, which has nothing to do with the original work, unless the factory’s work was haram in the first place, such as manufacturing alcohol, cigarettes or haram machines, in which case you would have to get rid of the wages that you took from it.
If you are in difficulty and you cannot get rid of all the money that you acquired from sewing haram clothes, then there is no sin on you if you keep what you need.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in Majmoo’ al-Fatawa:
If this prostitute and this wine-maker have repented and they are poor, it is permissible to give them as much of this money as they need. But if he is able to engage in business or do a handicraft such as weaving or spinning, he should be given enough to serve as capital (to set himself up in business). End quote.
And Allah knows best.

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Making Up Missed Prayers, - Dought & clear, - * She has made up the prayers that she missedwhen she was younger and wants to carry on making them up

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My mother did not pray for several years when she was young, and when she heard from one of the shaykhs that it is obligatory to make up missed prayers, she regretted it and repented, and she promised Allaah that she would make up the prayers that she had missed so long as she lived. In fact she has fulfilled her promise and has made up for all the years during which she did not pray. But she says to us: “I have to keep on praying because I said when I made a promise to my Lord, ‘as long as I live’ and I am still alive.” She offers the obligatory prayers and not the naafil prayers, although she knows that she hads offered all the prayers that she missed. Is what she is doing correct? Is it regarded as a vow?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that the one who does not pray for a while after he reaches puberty has to make up the prayers that he missed. If he does not know how many prayers he missed, then he should do what he thinks is most likely the number of prayers that he missed.
It should be noted that the prayers that she missed when she was young, before reaching puberty, do not have to be made up, because she was not accountable at that time.
Some scholars are of the view that whoever deliberately misses prayers does not have to make them up; all he has to do is repent and do good deeds in the future.
See the answers to questions no. 7969and 72216.
Anyway, what is required of your mother is to seek forgiveness a great deal, repent and do naafil deeds in the hope that Allaah will accept her repentance. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his death)”
[Ta-Ha 20:82]
With regard to her saying that she made a promise to Allaah to make up the missed prayers for as long as she lives, this is a vow to make up the prayers that she missed, and she has done that and fulfilled that vow. So she does not have to continue making up prayers that she has in fact made up, because a prayer can only be made up once.
As for her saying “as long as I am still alive”, it seems that what is meant by this expression is that she will continue to fulfil her vow as long as she is still alive, and she will never stop making up prayers because of sickness, being busy or any other reason that may distract her from praying.
If she wants to carry on praying, this is a good deed that was encouraged by the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: “Prayer is the best thing prescribed, so whoever can offer a great deal of it let him do so” (narrated by al-Tabaraani inSaheeh al-Jaami’(3870)) – so long as that is done with the intention of offering naafil prayers, not with the intention of making up missed prayers.
And Allaah knows best.

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