A Woman Traveling Without a Mahram
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 3063 )
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. After that:
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the question submitted by His Excellency the Rector of King Abdulaziz University, Dr. Abdullah Umar Nasif, to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee by him under number (181/1S) on 6/6/1400 AH. The text of the question is as follows: Female students residing in the university’s internal dormitories, whose families live in Ta’if , have requested permission to travel to Ta’if during official holidays and on Thursdays and Fridays, using public transport buses instead of their guardians accompanying them to and from the university, in accordance with university regulations. This is based on a written, officially certified consent allowing their daughters to use these buses, with the guardians assuming responsibility for any consequences that may arise, in order to facilitate matters for the guardians and alleviate the burdens they bear in repeatedly coming to pick up their daughters. The supervisor of the Ta’if station at the public transport company has confirmed that the station can assume responsibility for transporting the students. As we present this matter to your eminence, we hope you will provide us with the Sharia ruling on this issue, noting that if approved, this would extend to students residing in Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and elsewhere. We ask Allah the Exalted to reward you with the best reward for Islam and its people.
The Committee responded as follows: The Islamic Sharia is built upon securing benefits and averting harms, and among its essential objectives is the preservation of lineage and honor. It is established in the Book and the Sunnah that there is clear evidence for blocking the means that lead to the mixing of lineages and the violation of honor; such as the prohibition of a woman being in seclusion with a non-mahram, and the prohibition of displaying her adornment to anyone other than her husband and her mahrams, and those in their position, whom Allah the Exalted mentioned in Surat al-Nur; such as the command to lower the gaze and the prohibition of the furtive glance. Among the near means that may lead to immorality, the mixing of lineages, and the violation of honor is: a woman traveling without one who protects her in the estimation of the Sharia; namely her husband or one of her mahrams. Therefore, it is forbidden; based on what is established from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:1046 , narrated by Ahmad and al-Bukhari and Muslim , and based on what is established from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 17:8 narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Hakim , and based on what is established from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say while delivering a sermon: Bulugh al-Maram 718 narrated by Ahmad and al-Bukhari and Muslim . In some narrations, the restriction is to one day, in some to one night, in some to three miles, and in some to two days. The specification by these limits is not intended; rather, it is an expression of a factual reality, so its implication is not acted upon. Furthermore, it is an implication of a number that is contradicted by the explicit wording of the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and what is in its meaning, so it is not considered. Rather, what is considered is what is established in the generality of the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), which is clear that a woman is prohibited from anything called travel unless she is with her husband or a mahram for her, whether the travel is short or long, whether she is young or old, and whether the travel is by land, sea, or air. Whoever differs on this and restricts the prohibition to the young woman, or limits it to the specifications mentioned in some of the hadiths, or to when the road is not safe, or is satisfied with a trustworthy and safe group, his statement is refuted by the generality of the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), for it is explicit and takes precedence over the implication of the number in the other hadiths. Accordingly, women traveling by plane or car without a husband or mahram is prohibited, whether they are students or not; because it is travel, so the generality of the prohibition in the hadith applies to it.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. After that:
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed the question submitted by His Excellency the Rector of King Abdulaziz University, Dr. Abdullah Umar Nasif, to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee by him under number (181/1S) on 6/6/1400 AH. The text of the question is as follows: Female students residing in the university’s internal dormitories, whose families live in Ta’if , have requested permission to travel to Ta’if during official holidays and on Thursdays and Fridays, using public transport buses instead of their guardians accompanying them to and from the university, in accordance with university regulations. This is based on a written, officially certified consent allowing their daughters to use these buses, with the guardians assuming responsibility for any consequences that may arise, in order to facilitate matters for the guardians and alleviate the burdens they bear in repeatedly coming to pick up their daughters. The supervisor of the Ta’if station at the public transport company has confirmed that the station can assume responsibility for transporting the students. As we present this matter to your eminence, we hope you will provide us with the Sharia ruling on this issue, noting that if approved, this would extend to students residing in Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and elsewhere. We ask Allah the Exalted to reward you with the best reward for Islam and its people.
The Committee responded as follows: The Islamic Sharia is built upon securing benefits and averting harms, and among its essential objectives is the preservation of lineage and honor. It is established in the Book and the Sunnah that there is clear evidence for blocking the means that lead to the mixing of lineages and the violation of honor; such as the prohibition of a woman being in seclusion with a non-mahram, and the prohibition of displaying her adornment to anyone other than her husband and her mahrams, and those in their position, whom Allah the Exalted mentioned in Surat al-Nur; such as the command to lower the gaze and the prohibition of the furtive glance. Among the near means that may lead to immorality, the mixing of lineages, and the violation of honor is: a woman traveling without one who protects her in the estimation of the Sharia; namely her husband or one of her mahrams. Therefore, it is forbidden; based on what is established from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said:
A woman should not travel for three days unless she is with a mahram
لا تسافر المرأة ثلاثة أيام إلا ومعها ذو محرمA woman should not travel a day and a night unless she is with a mahram who is prohibited to her
لا تسافر المرأة بريدًا إلا ومعها محرم يحرم عليهاA man must never be alone with a woman unless there is a Mahram with her. A woman also may not travel with anyone except with a Mahram (relative).” A man stood up and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! My wife has gone for Hajj while I am enlisted for such and such a battle, what should I do?’ The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, “Go and join your wife in Hajj.
لا يخلون رجل بامرأة إلا ومعها ذو محرم، ولا تسافر المرأة إلا معها ذو محرم فقام رجل فقال: يا رسول الله: إن امرأتي خرجت حاجَّة، وإني اكتتبت في غزوة كذا وكذا، فقال: انطلق فحج مع امرأتكAnd success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.