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The dream for many Muslim women is to be able to earn an income from the comfort of our own homes. Particularly once we are married and have children (although this is true for lots of women, not just Muslim women). Some of the reasons for Muslim women wanting to work from home include:

• not having to work with the opposite gender in non-segregated settings, for example, the office or call centres.
• prioritising their role as a mother and wife, and fitting their career around these roles, rather than the other way around.

In this article, I have compiled a list of 10 work from home opportunities for Muslim women. All of these opportunities can become very profitable, but the key is to be passionate about what you are doing (because it will soon become very boring if you have no passion for it), and to have patience.

Say, “O My Servants Who Have Believed, Fear Your Lord. For Those Who Do Good In This World Is Good, And The Earth Of Allah Is Spacious. Indeed, The Patient Will Be Given Their Reward Without Account”.

(Surah az-Zumar, Ayah 10)

So, let’s have a look at 10 work from home opportunities for Muslim women.

1. Sell goods online using sites like eBay and Amazon

You can sell anything and everything online. Amazon and eBay provide excellent platforms if you think you might be able to sell something for a profit, and eBay is particularly good for new sellers. To begin selling on eBay, you would need to register an account. It’s a good idea to acquire some positive feedback so that buyers feel more at ease to buy from you. This is easily done – buy some cheap items on eBay (you can buy things for as low as 99p) and as long as you pay promptly, you should receive positive feedback. Before buying lots of stock and spending your hard-earned money on goods that you may or may not be able to shift, you should have a rummage through your stuff at home and sell the things that you no longer need, whether they have been used before or not. Almost anything sells on eBay! If you are able to get hold of clothes and accessories from abroad and sell these for a profit, then you could become a successful online seller. Make sure you calculate postage costs and eBay fees correctly otherwise you could end up losing money instead of making it. Once you are well established on eBay or Amazon, you can even expand your business to your own online shop! I know sisters who sell things from shoes to abayas to second-hand goods purchased from car boot sales.

If you’re not a fan of the eBay/Amazon route, you could try selling your goods via a Facebook page and creating a customer base that way.

2. Earn money and rewards by taking surveys online

There are genuine opportunities to make money from completing surveys online. They usually just require you to register and complete profile questionnaires so that they can send you relevant surveys. Survey invitations are sent to your email inbox, and you are rewarded with either money or vouchers depending on the survey site. In the UK, some of the genuine sites include Valued Opinions, Panelbase and YouGov.  You won’t be making lots of money straight away – the more you contribute and complete surveys effectively, the more invitations you will receive. Another excellent site is Bzzagent, which allows you to test products for free and you get to keep the products – all you need to do is tell others via social media and have conversations about the products. Don’t give out your bank/card details when registering for any survey website and the genuine sites will not expect you to pay to sign up to their website.

3. Blogging

Become a blogger. This is something that almost anyone can do, especially if they have knowledge or a passion about a subject that they are willing to share with others. As with other things, you will not see money flowing in straight away, but once your blog becomes established and you gain a significant number of readers, you will be able to make money through a variety of means such as affiliate links and advertisements. The most popular blogging platforms include WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr and TypePad.

4. Catering or Cake-baking

Do you have skills in the kitchen? Have friends and family told you that they love your cooking/baking? Maybe you should think about cooking or baking as a profession. Many sisters I know have a catering from home business. You will need to let the council know that you plan to sell food from home, and they will inspect your kitchen to ensure that it is up to health and safety standards. An excellent way to get your business off the ground is to create a Facebook page, blog or twitter account to gain followers and fans. Also don’t forget to showcase beautifully taken photos of your food using Pinterest and Instagram. I for one could stare at pictures of pretty food and cakes all day! If you can, enrol on a course at your local college or learning centre to gain a formal qualification for your skill. Many courses run in the evening and depending on your household income you could study for free.

5. Sew and sell Islamic clothes

If you are any good with a sewing machine, you can start a business selling abayas and jilbaabs…maybe even hijabs. Fabric is readily available and not too expensive especially from markets, and once sewn, an abaya can sell for £20 and above depending on style. I would recommend that you sell ready-sewn pieces instead of offering a tailoring service as some sisters can be incredibly fussy and others will downright refuse to pay if not 100% happy with the clothes. Again, advertise via social media, and it would be good to gain some sort of certification via a college course. Sewing can require patience and skill, so might not be suitable for sisters who get frustrated easily!

6. Islamic art/mehndi artist

If you are quite creative and able to create beautiful designs, then a business in Islamic art or as a mehndi artist might be in your horizon. Some sisters I know create beautiful pieces of Islamic art on canvas and sell these on for a decent profit. I couldn’t do it but I’m sure some of you readers could! Utilise social media for these sorts of businesses – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are great tools for moving your business forward and getting a decent client base.

7. Network marketing

Network marketing (or multi-level marketing) involves selling products directly towards customers, as well as building a team of sellers to benefit from their sales. Companies like Avon and Forever Living use network marketing strategies. The best start to a successful network marketing business is to introduce the products and business to your family and friends, in turn they can share the business with their friends, and so forth, creating a network of people in the business. A word of caution when working in this kind of company: they sell you the idea that you will live out all your dreams and have a massive mansion and cars once you reach the top of the marketing ladder. It is possible to reach such a level, however it does not mean that you will have to work any less. Often the case is that you will have to work even harder. Nobody wants to sell their akhirah for their dunya…time is precious. So what I will say about such businesses is to focus on selling their products to generate a decent income rather than dedicating all your time trying to build a team and move up the marketing ladder.

8. Childcare/babysitting

If you are good with children or have young children of your own, this could be an excellent work from home idea for you. Offer a childcare service for working parents, starting with friends and relatives. Obviously your home would need to be child friendly and you would need to be police checked for child protection purposes. You can register with nanny or babysitting agencies in your locality.

9. Telesales

Many job boards advertise work from home opportunities which involve sales calls to businesses or potential customers. It is exactly what you would do at a call centre but from your own home. If you have a good telephone manner and are equipped with a phone and internet connection at home, then this is something to look into.

10.  Earn money from uploading videos to YouTube

If you are one of those people at parties who likes snapping pics or videoing every little thing, then this is one for you. YouTube allows you to upload videos of anything and everything. You can make money from your videos by linking a Google Adsense account to your YouTube account, allowing Google to place ads on your videos. You then get paid whenever someone clicks on one of the ads on your videos. Don’t be misled into thinking you will become a millionaire overnight – you would need to get a lot of views and subscribers to make a decent amount of money. If you enjoy it though, it could just work out for you!

Whatever work-from-home business you decide to pursue, make sure it is something that you enjoy and are passionate about, otherwise you will give up trying to make it work when you struggle at the first hurdle.

And most importantly, seek guidance from Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala whenever you begin a new venture in life so that He can keep you rightly guided.