The right to own and financial independence
وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوۡاْ مَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦ بَعۡضَكُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٖۚ لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٞ مِّمَّا ٱكۡتَسَبُواْۖ وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِيبٞ مِّمَّا ٱكۡتَسَبۡنَۚ وَسۡـَٔلُواْ ٱللَّهَ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦٓۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءٍ عَلِيمٗاAnd do not wish for that by which God has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask God of His bounty. Indeed God is aware of all things.
Islamic law granted women what many Western legal systems recognised only recently: her mahr is hers alone, her inheritance is hers alone, and what she earns from work or trade is hers alone — no one may dispose of her property without her permission. In Britain, for example, a married woman had no independent property rights until the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882; the Sharia gave Muslim women this independence fourteen centuries earlier.
۞ وَٱلۡوَٰلِدَٰتُ يُرۡضِعۡنَ أَوۡلَٰدَهُنَّ حَوۡلَيۡنِ كَامِلَيۡنِۖ لِمَنۡ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ ٱلرَّضَاعَةَۚ وَعَلَى ٱلۡمَوۡلُودِ لَهُۥ رِزۡقُهُنَّ وَكِسۡوَتُهُنَّ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِۚ لَا تُكَلَّفُ نَفۡسٌ إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَا تُضَآرَّ وَٰلِدَةُۢ بِوَلَدِهَا وَلَا مَوۡلُودٞ لَّهُۥ بِوَلَدِهِۦۚ وَعَلَى ٱلۡوَارِثِ مِثۡلُ ذَٰلِكَۗ فَإِنۡ أَرَادَا فِصَالًا عَن تَرَاضٖ مِّنۡهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٖ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡهِمَاۗ وَإِنۡ أَرَدتُّمۡ أَن تَسۡتَرۡضِعُوٓاْ أَوۡلَٰدَكُمۡ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذَا سَلَّمۡتُم مَّآ ءَاتَيۡتُم بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِۗ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرٞAnd mothers may nurse their children for two full years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing period. Upon the father is their provision and their clothing in a fair manner. No soul is charged beyond its capacity. No mother is to be harmed for her child, nor any father for his child…
Nursing is work with a wage owed by the father in the Quran’s own text, and the mother’s food and clothing are protected during it — one of the earliest laws protecting women’s work and mothers’ rights.
Pioneering women of work and trade
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Quraysh’s leading merchantShe ran her own trade, employed men and required honesty; the Prophet ﷺ worked for her before prophethood and married her while she was a leading merchant of Quraysh (al-Bukhari and Muslim record her virtues in their Sahihs).
Al-Shifa bint Abdillah
Teacher and market supervisorShe taught Hafsah to write during the Prophet’s ﷺ era, and Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed her supervisor of the Medina market (Ibn Hajar’s al-Isabah).
Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyah
Pioneer of field medicineShe set up a tent at the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque to treat and nurse the wounded in his campaigns; “Rufaydah’s tent” became the symbol of field medicine in Islam (Ibn Sa’d’s al-Tabaqat al-Kubra).
Asma bint Abi Bakr
Land manager and traderShe owned land in Kufa, surveyed it herself, leased its yield and gave it to charity into old age (Ibn Sa’d’s al-Tabaqat al-Kubra).
Fields where Muslim women worked
- Trade: Khadijah and other women of Quraysh and Medina ran capital and deals.
- Education: al-Shifa, Aisha and others taught Quran, hadith and writing.
- Medicine and nursing: Rufaydah and healers in campaigns and cities.
- Farming and livestock: Asma and Ansari women managed their lands.
- Crafts: weaving, tanning, and arrow-making when needed.
وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدۡيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيۡهِ أُمَّةٗ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ يَسۡقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ ٱمۡرَأَتَيۡنِ تَذُودَانِۖ قَالَ مَا خَطۡبُكُمَاۖ قَالَتَا لَا نَسۡقِي حَتَّىٰ يُصۡدِرَ ٱلرِّعَآءُۖ وَأَبُونَا شَيۡخٞ كَبِيرٞAnd when he came to the well of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering, and he found besides them two women holding back. He said, “What is your circumstance?” They said, “We do not water until the shepherds take away, and our father is a very old man.”
These are the two daughters of Shu’ayb in the Quran itself: they shepherd, market their milk with dignity and modesty, and negotiate with a stranger graciously. Working outside the home with modesty is Quranic, not a modern novelty.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ: أَعْطُوا الْأُجَرَاءَ أُجُورَهُمْThe Messenger of God ﷺ said: “Give the workers their wages.”
Safeguards and family balance
- Income must be from lawful work: “whoever does righteousness, man or woman… We will not waste their reward.”
- No harm: nursing and the upbringing of children are not to be neglected for more income.
- Spending on the wife and children is the husband’s duty, not the woman’s, however wealthy she is.
- Ease for pregnant and nursing women at work; their support is commanded in the Quran.
مَنۡ عَمِلَ صَٰلِحٗا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوۡ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤۡمِنٞ فَلَنُحۡيِيَنَّهُۥ حَيَوٰةٗ طَيِّبَةٗۖ وَلَنَجۡزِيَنَّهُمۡ أَجۡرَهُم بِأَحۡسَنِ مَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَWhoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while a believer — We will surely give them a good life, and We will surely give them their reward according to the best of what they used to do.
لِيُنفِقۡ ذُو سَعَةٖ مِّن سَعَتِهِۦۖ وَمَن قُدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ رِزۡقُهُۥ فَلۡيُنفِقۡ مِمَّآ ءَاتَىٰهُ ٱللَّهُۚ لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا مَآ ءَاتَىٰهَاۚ سَيَجۡعَلُ ٱللَّهُ بَعۡدَ عُسۡرٖ يُسۡرٗاLet a man of wealth spend from his wealth, and whoever is restricted in provision — let him spend from what God has given him. God does not burden a soul beyond what He has given it. God will bring after hardship ease.
This guide is for learning, not a fatwa. Where scholars differ we present the positions of the schools as recorded in fiqh books; for your own situation ask a trusted scholar or Islamic centre in your country.
Frequently asked questions
May a woman work outside the home?
Yes, if the work is lawful, modest and without harm to herself or her family; some jobs carry differing opinions among scholars, so ask them for your own case.
Who pays for the household?
The husband bears full maintenance according to his means (65:7); it may not be imposed on the wife even if she is wealthier — any contribution from her is voluntary, rewarded by God.
Does a woman’s property remain hers after marriage?
Yes; her husband owns none of it, and it enters the household account only by mutual consent — unlike many older Western laws.
Quran text and translations: QuranEnc. Hadith translations: HadeethEnc. Sources are shown on each item. Found a mistake? Tell us.