Is it permissible for a divorced woman living in France, who is suffering from financial hardship and accumulated debts, and wishes to regain custody of her two children, to accept a job in a shop that sells alcohol and pork, knowing that the hijab is prohibited in the workplace, and bearing in mind that she currently works as a cleaner?

Our advice to you can be summarized as follows: seek a way to return to your husband, or seek another husband, or convince your family to allow you to live with them. If you need to work, look for a permissible job, noting that it is permissible to work in house cleaning. However, some scholars have prohibited a Muslim from working in personal service for a disbeliever due to the humiliation it entails for the Muslim. It is not permissible to take a job that requires removing the hijab unless there is a necessity. As for the custody of the children, it is the mother's right as long as she does not remarry, and their expenses and housing are the father's responsibility. We advise you to turn to Allah with supplication and piety, for He, the Exalted, says: "And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him a way out And will provide for him from where he does not expect."