Is it permissible for a man to take money from a non-Muslim, non-scriptural domestic worker who mistreated his family and stole their gold, knowing that he paid her recruitment expenses for two years, and what should he do with the money he took?

Scholars have differed regarding the permissibility of hiring women for service. Some scholars have permitted it, provided there is no khalwah (private seclusion) with her and no looking at her. The Hanafis, however, deemed it disliked due to the lack of security against prohibited looking and seclusion. The Shafi'is, on the other hand, considered it prohibited because it is often not free from looking. The preponderant opinion is the permissibility of hiring, subject to specific conditions. The employer has the right to demand that the recruitment office change the maid if she is not Muslim, contrary to the contract, and the office guarantees compensation for the loss. The employer also has the right to reclaim stolen items from the maid, or to take an equivalent amount from her money, provided it does not exceed the value of the stolen items. If more is taken, it must be returned, on condition that the theft is confirmed with certainty, not mere suspicion.