Selling clothes to women who do not wear Hijab

15-9-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

As-salamu 3laikum, I am living in my own country which is non-Muslim, with my non-Muslim family and I have to pay some debts and pay for my studies, so I have to work. I am finding it difficult to find halal work. I would like to know whether it is permissible to work in a ladies' clothes shop, even if most of the customers are non-Muslims and they will wear these clothes out in public without covering their 'awra properly. Or would it be permissible to work in a place for cleaning or altering clothes, with the same kind of customers? jazaak Allahu khair.

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Answer:

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 ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

We ask Allaah The Almighty to dispel your grief, remove your distress, help you pay off your debt and make you stand firm in your religion.

As for what you have asked about, we have pointed out in a previous Fatwa that it is not permissible to work in the field of selling clothes to the women who make impermissible exposure of their adornment if you know that they will do so. The only exception to that prohibition is when there is a necessity for that work. The same ruling of selling them applies to the shops of cleaning them and of all what is included in the cooperation in prohibited matters. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 108043.

However, if necessity compels someone to work in that field, then one is not to blame, but this should be confined only to the case of dire need. Accordingly, if your condition is as you have mentioned and you did not find work other than that work, then there is no blame on you; however, whenever you find a lawful work other than it, you have to leave this job.

Allaah Knows best.