Islamic Ruling on Working in a Mixed-Gender Environment and Accepting Gifts from Relatives

Is it Halal to Work in a Place with Free Mixing of Genders and Accept Gifts from Relatives?

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Gracious, the Exclusively Merciful

The question:

What is the ruling of the salary earned by someone who works in an environment where free mixing of the genders takes place, and what is the ruling of visiting relatives whose condition is like this, alongside eating from their food, and accepting their gifts?

The answer:

As for working in a place where free mixing of the genders takes place, then it is haram due to the speech of the Prophet (ﷺ), as has come in the two Sahihs, from the hadith of Uqbah bin Aamer (رضي الله عنه) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 

(إياكم والدخول على النساء)

“Beware of entering upon women.” 

They (the companions) said: 

يا رسول الله أرأيت الحمو؟

“O Messenger of Allah, what about the wife’s in-laws?” (the husbands male relatives i.e. brother/uncle) 

He said: 

(الحمو الموت)

“The wife’s in-laws is death.” 

And in the two Sahihs, on the authority of Osama bin Zaid (رضي الله عنه) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 

(ما تركت بعدي فتنة أضرَ على الرجال من النساء)

“I have not left after me a trial more harmful to men than women.”

And before that, Allah عز وجل says:

{وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْبَصَرَ وَٱلْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْـُٔولًۭا}

“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, the sight, and the heart, you will be questioned about all these”.

And Allah عز وجل says:

{يَعْلَمُ خَآئِنَةَ ٱلْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِى ٱلصُّدُورُ}

“Allah knows the treachery of the eyes and all that the breasts conceal”. 

And Allah عز وجل says:

{قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا۟ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا۟ فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَـٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ}

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and protect their private parts, that is purer for them. Verily Allah is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect their private parts”. 

So, staying in a place where free mixing of the genders takes place, and where women reveal themselves is haram.

As for the salary, then the work that he does, if it is an islamically permitted job in and of itself, without taking into account the free mixing of the genders, then the salary that he earns is earned by him in return for that work, so if the job is islamically permitted, then the salary that is earnt, is earnt in return for the job that he does, so it is halal for him. Since the salary was not given in return for his free mixing with women, rather in return for the permissible work that he carried out.

However, it is not safe from haram entering it, because it was accompanied by a haram act, so it is not safe from haram mixing with the wealth earnt, it is not safe from it being mixed with haram.

As for the questioner’s speech: What is the ruling on visiting relatives whose condition is like this?

The answer: Visiting them and upholding ties of kinship is according to its Islamic legislation, upholding ties of kinship is wajib (obligatory), even if they indulge in such work. It is permissible to eat from their food and it is permissible to accept their gifts. The Prophet (ﷺ) accepted the gifts of the idol-worshippers, accepted the gifts of the jews, and he ate from the food of the jews whilst they would not abstain from doing haram acts.  

Rather, the one whose earnings are purely haram should be avoided, and as for the one whose earnings are mixed between halal and haram, it is permissible to eat from it. And it has been established on the authority of Abdullah bin Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) with regards to those who are in this situation, that he said: 

لكم مهناه وعليهم الإثم

“For you is to benefit from it, and upon them is the sin”

So it is permissible to eat from their food, and to accept their gifts.

فتاوى فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن حزام الفضلي البعداني حفظه الله وتولاه