The ruling on a woman riding alone with a driver
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on a woman riding alone with a driver, or riding alone in a taxi? Is this considered seclusion (khalwah) or not? You have heard many answers from the scholars stating that it is seclusion.
Answer:
It is not permissible for a woman to ride with a man who is not one of her mahram (close relatives), whether he is [a specific relative] or anyone else.
Even if it is her cousin, her husband’s brother, for example her husband’s brother, or her sister’s husband, it is not permissible for her to ride with him alone, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): the devil.
And a woman’s seclusion with a man in a car is more dangerous than her seclusion with him in a house, because if she is alone with him in the car, he will gain control over her and be able to escape with her and overpower her. Many incidents of this kind have occurred. Riding with him in the car involves great danger, because the devil may find an opening through him, and he may seek to commit evil, and she may not be able to control him or get out of the car. Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to ride alone with a man who is not one of her mahram, where it is only her and him in the car. Yes.
And she should not be seen [by him]; she should stay in her house and not go out. If her work is not essential, she should leave her work and her transactions until a mahram comes for her. If it is a restaurant, she should not go out with the driver alone, absolutely not; this is not permissible. Yes. She should appoint an agent. This is the solution: she appoints an agent to handle the work, even if she pays him a fee. He completes her transactions and her work, even if she pays him a fee. She appoints an agent. Yes. She contacts her relatives. She contacts one of her Muslim neighbors in whom she sees good. She contacts them, or her relatives, or her neighbors, or she appoints an agent, or something similar to that.
The presenter:
Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on a woman riding alone with a driver, or riding alone in a taxi? Is this considered seclusion (khalwah) or not? You have heard many answers from the scholars stating that it is seclusion.
Answer:
It is not permissible for a woman to ride with a man who is not one of her mahram (close relatives), whether he is [a specific relative] or anyone else.
Even if it is her cousin, her husband’s brother, for example her husband’s brother, or her sister’s husband, it is not permissible for her to ride with him alone, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
No man is to be alone with a woman except with a third person
لا خلا رجل بامرأة إلا وثالثهمAnd a woman’s seclusion with a man in a car is more dangerous than her seclusion with him in a house, because if she is alone with him in the car, he will gain control over her and be able to escape with her and overpower her. Many incidents of this kind have occurred. Riding with him in the car involves great danger, because the devil may find an opening through him, and he may seek to commit evil, and she may not be able to control him or get out of the car. Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to ride alone with a man who is not one of her mahram, where it is only her and him in the car. Yes.
And she should not be seen [by him]; she should stay in her house and not go out. If her work is not essential, she should leave her work and her transactions until a mahram comes for her. If it is a restaurant, she should not go out with the driver alone, absolutely not; this is not permissible. Yes. She should appoint an agent. This is the solution: she appoints an agent to handle the work, even if she pays him a fee. He completes her transactions and her work, even if she pays him a fee. She appoints an agent. Yes. She contacts her relatives. She contacts one of her Muslim neighbors in whom she sees good. She contacts them, or her relatives, or her neighbors, or she appoints an agent, or something similar to that.
The presenter:
Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-038-الفقه الأكبر|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:23:26)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.