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Fatwa CenterHusband’s Mere Knowledge that His Would-Be Wife Works Is Not Permission for Her to Work after Marriage
Question
Salam Alkum, I am a new muslim and yesterday my friends and I we were discussing the topic on husband preventing wife from work. When a man marries a woman who was already working before marriage. Before the marriage the husband did not say at all that he will prevent his wife from work. The lady did not make is an additional condition that he allows her to work. In this case were the man did not say that he will prevent her from work after marriage nor the wife said she wants to add to the contract that he can't prevent her, would the husband be allowed to force his wife to stop working when she is doing all her duties as wife and mum and her job has nothing that contradicts islam teachings? Thanks
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.
Firstly, we would like to congratulate you on the blessing that Allah, The Exalted, bestowed upon you by guiding you to Islam. Such a great blessing requires your gratitude. One of the best means to express your gratitude to Allah, The Exalted, for this blessing is to do whatever helps you adhere to steadfastness upon the truth, such as seeking useful knowledge, performing good deeds, attending gatherings of goodness, and keeping the company of righteous women.
The basic principle is that it is impermissible for a woman to leave her husband’s house for work without his permission if he fulfills his financial duty towards her and provides for her. However, if she stipulated before conducting the marriage contract that she must work after marriage and he agreed, it is incumbent on him to fulfill this condition and allow her to work because it was narrated on the authority of ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir 
that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The conditions that are worthiest to be fulfilled are the conditions which make it legal for you to have sexual relations (i.e. the marriage contract).” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
This is the ruling if she had stipulated that. As for the husband’s mere knowledge before marriage that she goes out to work, it does not obligate him to allow her to go out to work after the consummation of the marriage.
Allah Knows best.
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