I am a religious Muslim woman and I fast and pray and comply with all the teachings of the Sharee’ah (Islamic law), except the Hijaab (Islamic covering) because of the nature of my work. Am I committing a major sin? Will I be deprived of the mercy of Allaah The Almighty and from Paradise?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

We have issued several Fatwas (religious rulings) on the obligation of wearing the Hijab for women.  In these Fatwas, we explained that abandoning the Hijab is one of the major sins that every Muslim woman should guard against, unless there is a compelling necessity.

Thus, you should know that it is prohibited for you to take off your Hijab before non-Mahram (marriageable) men without a compelling necessity.

As for the ruling regarding women’s work, if there is a compelling necessity, then it is permissible, provided that the criteria set by the Sharee’ah mentioned in the following Fatwas 82399 and 83607 are met.  Otherwise, work is prohibited for women [if the criteria that make working permissible for women are not met].

In addition, we draw your attention to the opinion of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa‘ah concerning the one who commits a major sin and dies while insisting upon it. He is under the will of Allaah The Almighty, that is: He may forgive him if He wills and admit him to Paradise, or punish him if He wills and doom him to Hell.  Nevertheless, if he enters Hell he will not remain there forever, but will leave it after some time to enter Paradise.

This opinion is supported by a large body of evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition), for example: Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.} [Quran 4:48].

However, if a believer repents to Allaah The Almighty, even from polytheism, Allaah The Almighty will accept their repentance out of His generosity, bounty and leniency.

Finally, you must repent to Allaah The Almighty and comply with all the Islamic injunctions.

Allaah Knows best.