Is It Permissible For Men To Act As a Personal Trainer For Women?

Question: Is it permissible for a male to act as a personal trainer for a woman or to be a makeup artist for a woman?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate,

It is not permissible for a male to be a personal trainer for a woman if doing so entails his touching her or being alone with her in a private room such that a third party could not enter unannounced. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Ala’ al-Din Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Likewise, it is not permissible for a man to be a makeup artist for women for the same two aforementioned reasons. Furthermore, applying makeup for the woman could entail assisting her in provocative displays of beauty which the Qur’an prohibits. [Ibid.]

The exception to the above is if the man is an unmarriageable relative of the woman and her makeup is only meant for a display to her husband.

I hope this helps,
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a graduate from Tarim; a student of Habib Umar and other luminaries; and authorized teachers of the Qur’an and the Islamic sciences