All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Islam has honored women and recognized their right to work and earn a living. A woman`s work is considered part of the economic life of her family and plays a significant role in its development. It also helps reduce the financial burdens of the family and fulfills the needs of women for receiving education, medical treatment, and other things that are essential for society. Therefore, on a personal level, work achieves for her self-sufficiency and decent living, so it spares her begging for help, especially if she does not have anyone to provide for her.
Woman's work is not something new as women used to work during the time of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and it has been established in authentic Hadiths that women worked in herding, agriculture, home industries, managing craft businesses, treating patients, and so on. For example, it was narrated that Jabir bin 'Abdullah said: "My maternal aunt was divorced, and she wanted to collect the harvest from her date-palm trees. A man rebuked her for going out to the trees. She went to the Prophet (PBUH), who said: 'No, go and collect the harvest from your trees, for perhaps you will give some in charity or do a good deed with it." {Transmitted by Muslim}.
The permissibility of a woman's work is subject to the same conditions of man`s work. Thus, the work must be in tune with the rulings of Islamic Law in the sense that it is permissible since if it is prohibited, the person who does it is considered sinful, and the outcome is considered forbidden. An example on this is the hire paid to a prostitute and the gift given to a soothsayer. This is reflected in the following Hadith: Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham from Abu Masud al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade the sale price of a dog, the earnings of a prostitute and the earnings of a fortune teller. By the earnings of a prostitute, he meant what a woman was given for fornication. The earnings of a fortuneteller were what he was given to tell a fortune." {Shareh An-Nawawi Ala Muslim, V.10:231}.
However, if the work itself is permissible, but the worker violated the rulings of Islamic Law (Sharia)-such that there was Khilwa (an offense consisting of being caught alone in private with a member of the opposite sex who is not an immediate family member), mixing between the two sexes, or uncovering of private parts-then the work itself remains permissible, but the worker is considered sinful for committing a forbidden matter and his/her earnings are considered lawful.
On the economic level, Islam has protected woman by making her financially independent just as the man is. The proof of this is that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Every person is more deserving of their wealth than their parent, child, and all the people." {Transmitted by Baihaqhi}. Even if a woman is married, she is still financially independent from her husband. This is clearly stated in Article No. (320) of the Jordan Personal Status Law. This Article reads : "Each spouse is financially independent from the other." This affirms the independence of the woman financially and her ability to dispose of her money as she pleases. Accordingly, she has the right to open bank accounts, manage her accounts, lend and borrow, and engage in other contemporary commercial and banking transactions.
Islam also granted her the right to dispose of what she owns as long as she is sane, and she can manage her money in trade and other things without anyone's permission. Allah the Almighty says {What means}: " if then ye find sound judgment in them, release their property to them." {An-Nisa`, 6}.
She has the right to use her money in trading with others through creating partnerships and Mudaraba contracts (A partnership in profit whereby one party provides capital and the other party provides skill and labour). "She has the right to dispose of her wealth as she pleases without obtaining the permission of her husband." {Nehayat Az-Zain, P.248}. If she works with her husband then whatever profit she makes is hers alone and if she enters into a partnership with him then she is entitled to receive a portion of the profit based on her share in that business.
In conclusion, a woman`s work and practice of commercial activities are permissible according to the conditions stipulated in Sharia, and there is much good for the family and society in that. This means that the man works in his specialization and what suits him, and the woman works in her specialization and what suits her. In addition, she is considered half of society and plays a significant role in it. She is man`s partner in building, giving, and contributing in the creation of good future generations as well as establishing a renaissance for the Muslim nation. Allah Almighty knows best.