Woman working in hotels

30-10-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am 24 years old who studied in the university but I couldn't find a job so I joined an institute in order to get another diploma which can help me find a job. The problem is that I might work in hotels, in jobs which have nothing to do with wines or prostitution, I mean in human resources or marketing. Some people say that working in hotels is forbidden because some of my salary will come from Haram. Others say that it is ok to work there as long as I adhere to Islam and do a good job. I really love the industry and want to work in it and have the chance even to change it. So, please answer my question is it Haram to work in hotels in general or I can work in some clean sides of hotel industry!

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Initially, a woman should stay at her home and must not go out to work outside or elsewhere, unless it is essential and then she should seek for (lawfully) permissible job. There is no doubt that a woman's job in these Hotels is surrounded by danger which is so difficult for any woman to escape, even though her activities are far from the forbidden things. Examples of these dangerous things are:

* Men and women are getting mixed.

* Being exposed to seducement.

* Being unable to adhere properly to the lawful Hijab, etc.

Suppose there is a hotel which is safe from the afore said dangerous things, and the wages are from permissible (Halal) sources, then there will be no harm for a woman to work there; but it is very rare to find such a hotel. For this reason, and for the sake of your safety, we advise you to change your career, so as to stay far away from what Allah has forbidden; and Allah Compensates the person who leaves something for His sake with a better thing. For their importance, please refer to Fatawa: 82399 and 83953. Allah knows best.