Her supervisor asks her not to wear Hijab

14/09/2011| IslamWeb

Question

I am an employee who wears Hijab, but one of our female supervisors asked me not to wear it as this is the order of the manager of Health Affairs. Please advise me so I can convey your answer to him

 

Answer

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

 

A Muslim woman has to cover her body in the presence of non-Mahram (i.e., marriageable) men, whether she is an employee or otherwise. Jurists are unanimous on the fact that it is obligatory to cover the entire body except the face and hands. Covering the face and hands is also obligatory according to the preponderant opinion, which is supported by proofs from the Quran and Sunnah. Furthermore, a woman is not allowed to work in a job where she is expected to remove her Hijab or violate the Sharee'ah in any other way, such as being alone with a non-Mahram (marriageable) man.

Furthermore, it is obligatory for any Muslim in a leadership position to enjoin the good and forbid the evil since he is responsible for that before Allah The Almighty. Allowing an employee to display her beauty or to unveil any part of her hair, chest or legs is a great sin. According to the preponderant opinion she is also not permitted to uncover her face and hands. Whoever approves of that, whether he is an official or a manager, will share in the sin of the act and will be considered to have cheated those under his authority.

It is reported that the Prophet pointed out that whoever is assigned responsibility over people but does not take care of them, manage their affairs properly, or offer them advice in their life and religion, Allah The Almighty will not allow him to enter Paradise and will punish him for that.

If the manager of Health Affairs has authority over all the female employees in his department, he is responsible for each one of them and is asked to prevent them from committing anything unlawful that is prohibited by Allah The Almighty, whether it is exposing their beauty or anything else. That is why the responsibility he shoulders is great - especially in these modern times when many women are careless about Hijab.

This means that the manager must increase his monitoring and supervision and be strict in response to any violation of the Sharee'ah. This is necessary so he can free himself from liability and avoid being included in the punishment mentioned in the previous Hadeeth. Therefore, this employee's commitment to her Hijab should be a source of happiness and joy for this manager who realizes that Allah The Almighty is watching him.

This faithful woman has helped him and relieved him of some of the burdens of the trust he has been assigned. Therefore, she should be rewarded and treated kindly. Moreover, the Sharee'ah combines faith with guarding against any violation of it and forbidding evil. The stronger a person’s faith is, the stronger his desire to guard the religion becomes along with his endeavor to forbid the wrong.

It is reported that the Prophet commanded whoever sees a wrongdoing to alter it with his hand; if he is unable to do that then with his tongue; if he is unable to do that, then with his heart; and that is the least degree of faith. (Muslim) It is also reported that the Prophet explained that Allah The Almighty becomes jealous when people do what He has forbidden. [Muslim]

A Muslim has to beware of forbidding what Allah The Almighty asked people to observe as this is actually opposing Allah The Almighty and His Messenger . Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.}[Quran 4:115] This is one of the characteristics of the hypocrites. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right and close their hands. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them [accordingly]. Indeed, the hypocrites - it is they who are the defiantly disobedient.}[Quran 9:67]

Likewise, whoever is allured by Satan to commit such a heinous act, this worldly life and its transient pleasures will be of no use to him as compensation. It will not benefit him to imitate or follow the orders of others since there should be no obedience to anyone who commands disobeying the Creator.  We ask Allah The Almighty to guide us, protect us from the evil of ourselves and to mend the conditions of all Muslims.

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb