Third: The permission of the husband or the guardian

The permission of the husband or the guardian of the woman must be obtained before going outside her home to do permissible work, because they are responsible for her before Allah The Almighty. Imaam Ash-Shaafi‘i said, “If the woman is able to perform Hajj, her husband or her guardian has the right to prevent her as long as she has not yet assumed Ihraam (sacral state) and intended to perform Hajj.” He also said, “If the girl becomes mature and has the physical and financial ability to perform Hajj and her guardian or husband wishes to prevent her (owing to a potential harm or an outweighing benefit), he has the right to do so as long as she has not yet put on Ihraam.”

If this is the case regarding the obligatory Hajj, what about non-obligatory acts like permissible work? Scholars supported their opinion of stipulating the husband’s or guardian’s permission by the verse in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Hell whose fuel is people and stones} [Quran 66:6]

Allah The Almighty made it obligatory upon believers to protect themselves and their families from Hell. Therefore, it becomes obligatory upon the husband or the guardian to protect those people whom Allah The Almighty charged him with their responsibility, and they in turn have to obey him. In his commentary on the aforementioned verse, Qataadah said, “You should order them to obey Allah The Almighty and forbid them from disobeying Him, take care of them according to the Order of Allah, command them to follow the orders of Allah The Almighty, help them to follow it, and if you see them disobeying Allah The Almighty, then, you should scold them and deter them from doing so.”

Scholars further supported their opinion with evidence from the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition). Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Surely! Everyone of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charges: The Imaam (ruler) of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his charges; the man is a guardian of his family (household) and is responsible for his charges; the woman is a guardian in her husband's home and is responsible for her charges; and the slave is a guardian of his master's property and is responsible for his charges. Surely, every one of you is a guardian and responsible for his charges.” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi and Ahmad]

In this Hadeeth (narration), the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, clarified that Allah The Almighty will ask every guardian about what He charged him with, whether he preserved his charges or wasted them. Accordingly, the guardian has rights and duties. Some of his rights are to be obeyed as long as he does not order disobedience and to act upon his advice. Hence, if the woman wants to work, she has to seek the permission of her husband or guardian because he is responsible for her before Allah The Almighty.

Fourth: Fulfilling the rights of the husband and children

The work of the woman should not hinder her from her basic mission of being a wife and a mother. Accordingly, the permissible work could become impermissible if it results in the loss of greater benefit. The need of the Ummah (Muslim nation) for the role of the wife and mother is greater than its need for female workers who could be replaced by many men especially with the high rate of unemployment among men in Islamic countries.

Scholars of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) state that one of the conditions of women’s work is that it does not involve negligence of the rights of her husband and children. They used a great deal of evidence to support this condition, including the following Hadeeth (narration): ‘Abdullaah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: ‘I have been informed that you pray all night and observe fast every day; is this true?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ He said: ’If you do so, your eyes will become weak and you will get bored. Your body has a right over you and your wife has a right over you. So, fast and break your fast, pray at night and sleep.” [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad] This Hadeeth indicates that there are rights upon the Muslim toward himself and his family. He has to fulfill these rights; otherwise, he would be considered negligent. Accordingly, when the woman works outside her home, she should not neglect the rights of her husband and children.

Fifth: Work that is suitable for the nature of the woman

Woman’s work should be suitable for her nature. The wisdom of Allah The Almighty necessitated that the woman should have a different nature to man. Modern medicine and the science of physiology point out the differences between man and woman and no one can ignore these differences except an obstinate person. Accordingly, the woman should not undertake jobs that are specific to men such as those which require muscle power, and so on.

The woman during the lifetime of the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and in the three best generations used to undertake work that befitted her nature. For instance, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was the most knowledgeable person and had the best knowledge of Fiqh and used to teach people during the lifetime and after the demise of the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Sixth: Adhering to the Sharee'ah-approved dress

Scholars of Fiqh stated the condition that when the woman works outside the home, she must adhere to the dress approved by the Sharee'ah (Islamic legislation) which covers her whole body. However, there is a difference among scholars whether her face and hands should be covered or not. The majority of scholars are of the opinion that these parts of the body are not part of the 'Awrah (parts of the body that must be covered), yet, she must cover them in case of fearing Fitnah (trial). One of the two opinions in the school of Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal states that they are 'Awrah. The dress should not be an adornment in itself, or similar to men’s clothing, or like the dress of the disbelieving women. It should not be transparent and should be loose so that it would not outline her body. It is advisable to review a separate research on the dress of the Muslim woman called Libaas Al-Mar’ah Al-Muslimah by Al-Albaani .