She wants to open a beauty salon and is asking about offering her services to non-Muslim women

Question: 171132

I live in the United States and I am planning to open a hair salon, but I heard that it is not permissible to offer this service except to Muslim sisters who wear hijab. But in fact the location of this salon will be in a place where there are no Muslims and the Muslim women who come to it will be coming from far away, which is another matter altogether. At the same time I cannot close the door to non-Muslim women; rather from experience when I was a student in university studying cosmetology it seems to me that this field is an opportunity for da‘wah because non-Muslim women will ask about why I wear hijab and sometimes we have a detailed discussion which may lead to one of them being guided, if Allah wills. In addition to that, most of my neighbours are non-Muslim, as are some of our relatives, and all of them want me to offer my services to them. What is your opinion?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly:

For a woman to work as a hairdresser forwomen is permissible in principle, so long as that is not accompanied by any haraam things that usually accompany this kind of work.

See the answer to question no. 120891

Secondly:

If most of the people in the place whereyou choose to work are not Muslims and your work will basically be with kaafir women, then it is not permissible foryou to work in the field, because all of the required guidelines on working inthat field cannot be adhered to with those who do not believe that these thingsare haraam and do not adhere to that at all.Undoubtedly working in that field will be helping them in not covering and inmaking a wanton display and uncovering, and even nakedness and changing thecreation of Allah. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of themeaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr andAt‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); butdo not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah.Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah5:2].

Thirdly:

With regard to the issue of mixing withthese women and calling them to Islam, this is a noble and important matter.However, it is not permissible to participate with them in whatever they do ofsins, or to help them in that. It is not permissible to commit a certain sinfor the sake of a hoped-for or imagined interest. It is possible to achieve theinterest of da‘wah by other ways or in other placeswhere it is not necessary to help them in sin.

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