Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The basic principle is that
a woman should remain at home, and not go out except for necessary purposes.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And stay in your
houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance”
[al-Ahzaab 33:33].
Although this is addressed
to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), it also applies to the believing women. It is only addressed to the
wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
because of their honour and status with the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and because they are examples for the
believing women.
The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Woman is ‘awrah, and if she goes
out, the shaytaan raises his hopes (of misguiding her). She is never closer
to Allaah than when she stays in her house.” Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan and Ibn
Khuzaymah; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Shaheehah,
no. 2688.
And he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning a woman’s prayer in the
mosque: “Their houses are better for them.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (567) and
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
For more information please
see the answer to question no.
6742.
Secondly:
It is permissible for a
woman to go out of her house for work, but that is subject to certain
conditions. If they are met, it is permissible for her to go out. They are:
-
That she needs to work in order
to acquire the money she needs, as in your case.
-
The work should be suited to
the nature of woman, such as medicine, nursing, teaching, sewing, and so on.
-
The work should be in a place
that is only for women, and there should be no mixing with non-mahram men.
-
Whilst at work she should
observe complete shar’i hijab.
-
Her work should not lead to her
travelling without a mahram.
-
Her going out to work should
not involve committing any haraam action, such as being alone with the
driver, or wearing perfume where non-mahrams can smell it.
-
That should not lead to her
neglecting things that are more essential for her, such as looking after her
house, husband and children.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen said: The field in which a woman works should be only for
women, such as if she works in teaching girls, whether in administration or
technical support, or she works at home as a seamstress sewing clothes for
women and so on. As for working in fields that are for men, this is not
permissible for her because it requires her to mix with men, which is a
great fitnah (source of temptation and trouble) and should be avoided. It
should be noted that it is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have not left behind me any fitnah that is
more harmful to men than women; the fitnah of the Children of Israel had to
do with women.” So the man should keep his family away from places of fitnah
and its causes in all circumstances. End quote.
Fataawa al-Mar’ah
al-Muslimah (2/981)
If these conditions are met
in your work, then there is nothing wrong with you doing it in sha Allaah.
We ask Allaah to grant you
a righteous husband, for He is able to do that.
And Allaah knows best.