The ruling on a person in ihram riding in a car

Question : The roof of the car.

Answer : There is a difference of opinion regarding the roof of the car. The well-known view in the Hanbali school is that it is forbidden; it is not permissible for a person in ihram to ride in a car with a roof, because this constitutes utilizing the vehicle to shade himself. If someone were to ask, “Did they explicitly state this?” we would say that the car did not exist in the time of the Qur'an, but they stated a similar case: the *mulhamah* (a covered litter) that is carried on camels and has a canopy. The well-known view in the school is that it is not permissible for a person in ihram to ride in this *mulhamah* because he shades his head with it.