Working for a non-Muslim

Question

May Allah's peace and blessings be with you.

I would like to know your opinion about me working as helper for a handicapped woman (sclerose) in her home, who does not believe in a Creator. My salary is being payed by the government from tax money, and the woman is living alone, no husbond, no children at home. I am helping her with personal care, dinner, housekeeping and driving her to her activities. I always wear my hijab during work, and dress properly. In the beginning I asked her if she believes in God (we live in Denmark, a Christian country), she said she didn't. But she respects that I won't serve her pig and haram meat for dinner, and eats the halal meat that I get for her, and when I am out to different activities with her, a lot of christian and non-believers get to know me, and then they think I am very nice and a good person, alhamdolillah. The danish people are still a bit scared of the hijab, but this way they see that I am a normal human being just like them, on a lot of points, and they relax and maybe insha Allah they get a different view on muslims, who have a bad reputation due to the terror acts. But do you think that I am earning my money in a haram way, working for a non-believing woman? Once in a while, when something comes up, I tell her the muslim view on things. When she wants something eatable, and I notice that there is pig fat or haram animal fat in the ingredients of it, I warn her, she settles for the alternative without discussion if there is an alternative.

I hope to hear from you soon brother, and thank you very much for your time, may Allah reward you in the best of ways, and protect you from the sufferings of the fire.

Response

May God's peace and blessings be with you too!

There is nothing wrong with working for someone who is not a Muslim. It is our actions that we will be held accountable for. In your case, it is commendable that you are able to take things out of your professional life that are un-Islamic and that you are holding high to Islamic values. I also commend that lady for respecting your views and the fact that you also respect her views and preferences in the same way! It is indeed important to have a good relationship with people around us.

The story of Prophet Jesus (pbuh) provides a great example in this regard. If you go through chapter 12 of Quran titled 'Joseph', you will find that he took charge of land under a king who is not known to be a Muslim, and ruled it according to the law.

In practical life, it is inconceivable that when someone converts to a Muslim and their parents are non-Muslims, they would suddenly stop helping them or serving them. Similarly, if a Muslim man were to get married to a non-Muslim woman, it is only natural for them to have a loving relationship, helping each other along in life in order to maintain a healthy relationship.

Given these examples, there is no reason that simply someone's faith should affect our kindness or our dealings with them in any way whatsoever.