The danger of a woman riding with a foreign driver without a mahram
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Shaykh Salih, is there a specific distance, for example in kilometers, that permits a woman to ride with the driver alone, or are there specific places?
The Shaykh:
A woman must not ride with a man alone, even for a short distance, because of the risk of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), even if she rides with him while the car is parked in a place. This is forbidden (haram). Her seclusion with him, even if they do not leave the place where the car is, is a form of forbidden seclusion.
The questioner:
We seek help from Allah. What does the Honorable Shaykh say to those who allow their female relatives to ride with drivers to schools, hospitals, or for outings?
The Shaykh:
This is the great danger: women, especially young and attractive women, riding with taxi drivers. This has led to great fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and much evil, and it is a place where such things occur. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not warn about anything without there being a danger to the Ummah (the Muslim community), without a doubt. He (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against the seclusion of a non-mahram man with a woman, and he warned against men entering upon women. All of this is to block the door of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) for the Ummah. Therefore, men allowing their female relatives to go with drivers or taxi drivers alone, for study or for any purpose, is forbidden (haram). The responsibility lies with everyone, and the sin lies with everyone: the guardian, the woman, and the car driver. They all sin, and they all disobey Allah and His Messenger, because they have cooperated in sin and aggression.
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Shaykh Salih, is there a specific distance, for example in kilometers, that permits a woman to ride with the driver alone, or are there specific places?
The Shaykh:
A woman must not ride with a man alone, even for a short distance, because of the risk of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), even if she rides with him while the car is parked in a place. This is forbidden (haram). Her seclusion with him, even if they do not leave the place where the car is, is a form of forbidden seclusion.
The questioner:
We seek help from Allah. What does the Honorable Shaykh say to those who allow their female relatives to ride with drivers to schools, hospitals, or for outings?
The Shaykh:
This is the great danger: women, especially young and attractive women, riding with taxi drivers. This has led to great fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and much evil, and it is a place where such things occur. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not warn about anything without there being a danger to the Ummah (the Muslim community), without a doubt. He (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against the seclusion of a non-mahram man with a woman, and he warned against men entering upon women. All of this is to block the door of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) for the Ummah. Therefore, men allowing their female relatives to go with drivers or taxi drivers alone, for study or for any purpose, is forbidden (haram). The responsibility lies with everyone, and the sin lies with everyone: the guardian, the woman, and the car driver. They all sin, and they all disobey Allah and His Messenger, because they have cooperated in sin and aggression.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، خطر ركوب المرأة مع سائق أجنبي بلا محرم – الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.