Is it permissible for a woman to travel by airplane alone, given that some of her mahram (relatives one may not marry) will see her off and receive her at the airport?
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Question:
Is it permissible for a woman to travel by airplane alone from one country to another, knowing that some of her mahram will see her off and stay with her at the departure airport until she boards the plane, and that some of her mahram will also receive her at the arrival airport? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This issue has been asked about frequently and has caused confusion for many people. The situation is that a woman travels by airplane, her wali (guardian) hands her over to the plane, and another wali receives her at the airport of the country she is heading to. They assumed that this suffices in place of a mahram, but this is a mistake. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A woman must not travel except with a mahram." He also said (peace and blessings be upon him) This is a general ruling for all travel, whether by airplane, car, mount, or on foot. All of it is considered travel, and it is not permissible for a woman to travel alone, neither by airplane nor by any other means. Also, their reasoning that her wali will receive her at the airport—who guarantees this? Who guarantees that the plane will not change its direction for one reason or another?
This often happens: the plane encounters obstacles that cause it to change its route to another country. So who will receive her in that other country? What will be the woman's situation in this case? This is not guaranteed. Their claim that she will be received at the airport is not guaranteed. In fact, it is more likely that this will not be available, and the plane will encounter issues that cause it to change its direction to another country. What will be the woman's situation if she lands in a foreign land with no one to receive her, and she is exposed to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), being a weak woman? This matter is often overlooked. This doubt is removed entirely; because it is uncontrolled, unsafe, and generally unavailable. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
Is it permissible for a woman to travel by airplane alone from one country to another, knowing that some of her mahram will see her off and stay with her at the departure airport until she boards the plane, and that some of her mahram will also receive her at the arrival airport? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This issue has been asked about frequently and has caused confusion for many people. The situation is that a woman travels by airplane, her wali (guardian) hands her over to the plane, and another wali receives her at the airport of the country she is heading to. They assumed that this suffices in place of a mahram, but this is a mistake. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "A woman must not travel except with a mahram." He also said (peace and blessings be upon him)
It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel a distance of two days, meaning on a mount, except with a mahram,
لا يحل لامرأة تؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر أن تسافر مسيرة يومين، يعني على الراحلة إلا مع ذي محرم،This often happens: the plane encounters obstacles that cause it to change its route to another country. So who will receive her in that other country? What will be the woman's situation in this case? This is not guaranteed. Their claim that she will be received at the airport is not guaranteed. In fact, it is more likely that this will not be available, and the plane will encounter issues that cause it to change its direction to another country. What will be the woman's situation if she lands in a foreign land with no one to receive her, and she is exposed to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), being a weak woman? This matter is often overlooked. This doubt is removed entirely; because it is uncontrolled, unsafe, and generally unavailable. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجوز للمرأة أن تسافر في الطائرة لوحدها علماً أن هناك من محارمها من يودعها ومن يستقبلها في المطار؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.