WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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My sister… it has become clear to us that you are able to work, and no one should prevent you from doing so except the sacred law of God. Beyond that, it is permissible for you. However, out of concern for you, I would like to draw your attention, dear and respected sister, to several matters:
1. Your work should not affect your dignity and composure… because many women fall into unfavorable situations, and only a few are able to speak from a position of strength due to special advantages they possess.
2. Your work environment should be balanced, because close association, interaction, and companionship can have very serious consequences for one’s faith and the Hereafter, even if this is not clearly visible in the noisy worldly life we live.
“They know what is apparent of the worldly life, but they are unaware of the Hereafter.” (Qur’an, Surah Ar-Rum 30:7)
3. You are greater than to surrender what you were raised upon of faith, no matter how many frivolous people surround you, or how many pressures and temptations appear. Sadly, some have done so to gain a fleeting worldly benefit. How could faith be sold? Never—may God protect you.
“And they sold him for a low price, a few silver coins.” (Qur’an, Surah Yusuf 12:20)
4. Do not forget your duties toward your home, your children, and your husband… because losing them is a loss for you before anything else. All the jobs and roles you may hold—no matter how “great”—can be performed by someone else. But the matters of your family cannot truly be fulfilled by anyone else, even if servants or helpers are present. Everything that comes from you and your hands carries reassurance and affection for your husband and children. Can anyone else truly provide that?
5. A job comes and goes, changes, improves, or worsens… but family, children, and a husband do not tolerate gambling or risk.
6. The Western woman’s materialistic outlook on matters—especially marriage, divorce, financial support, and household affairs—should not be your example. You are first a Muslim, second a Muslim, and third and finally a Muslim.
7. Your care for your children and your husband is care for Islam and society, and neglecting them harms Islam and society… even if your salary is high.
8. There is a common mistake in the concept of the “working woman.” This description is often applied only to the “productive” woman who works outside the home and receives a salary. Accordingly, a woman who focuses on her home and family is considered “unemployed” because she is not materially “productive.” This reminds us of those who once said that establishing prayer is a “waste of time” and a hindrance to productivity, and the same about fasting… claiming such acts weaken the national economy! They forget that a homemaker is certainly a worker and a producer—indeed, she may work more than those who are outside the home. Work does not necessarily have to be linked to a salary or personal financial gain; otherwise, what about volunteering, charity, doing good, and acts performed for the sake of God?
9. The “maternal” role—which belongs only to the mother—is the foundation in building human beings and humanity… and in nurturing a righteous woman.
*From the book “My Sister” by Sayyid Sami Khadra*
