Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
I am a university student and I live alone. I help students with their homework from elementary school up to high school. It’s a means for me to earn spare money so that I can save up for emergencies or future expenses. This time I have to teach a male high school student. I accepted the offer because I thought his mother would always be there at their house but it turns out that sometimes she is at work.
As I already accepted it and it would be difficult for me to find another small job with my hijab in France, I don’t know what to do. Should I tell her that I can no longer teach her son?
Answer
Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you for your diligence and God-fearingness (taqwa) and may He put many blessings and goodness in your work and studies.
Seclusion
Please review the rules of seclusion here:
Is It Permissible for Me to Stay in a Flat With My Brother’s Wife If a Child Is With Us?
Practicality
It is not permissible for you to teach him alone in the house, as you describe, so I recommend that you move the class to a cafe, park or his front porch. Please explain this to his mother and I am sure that she will respectfully agree. Don’t compromise on issues like this, and in sha Allah, the blessings in your work will continue. Of course, if she doesn’t agree, I am certain that Allah will send you a better job where you are not asked to compromise on your religion.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told us, “Verily, you will never leave anything for the sake of Allah Almighty but that Allah will replace it with something better.” [Musnad]
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.