We request further clarification of Imam Malik’s (may Allah have mercy on him) opinion on the permissibility of a woman traveling without a mahram in the company of a safe group of women?

The questioner : The questioner:The questioner : He says: We request further clarification of Imam Malik’s (may Allah have mercy on him) opinion on the permissibility of a woman traveling without a mahram in the company of a safe group of women? And what is the evidence for this? Some scholars cite the following hadith as evidence for this permissibility: , we request further clarification.

The Shaykh : As for the hadith, it contains no evidence; because the "za'inah" is the woman, and the claim is that there are women who travel with one another, and the hadith states that the woman travels. If a man wanted to use the hadith as evidence, he would claim that it is permissible for a single woman to travel, because that is the indication of this hadith. However, the hadith does not indicate the permissibility of a woman traveling alone; because the hadith did not come as legislation, but rather as a report about the unseen. Reports about the unseen are about what happens, whether the reality is praiseworthy or blameworthy. For example, his statement (peace be upon him): This does not mean that building tall structures is prescribed in Islam, but rather this is a report about the unseen that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about to present to people evidence, after other evidences, of the truth of his prophethood (peace be upon him); because it is not within the capacity of people, usually, to speak about the unseen. Likewise, for example, among the reports is: , so this is a report about what will happen, and it does not contain a statement of the legality of what is reported. And so, his statement (peace be upon him) about the "za'inah" does not include a legal ruling, but rather it is a report from the reports of the unseen. Especially since using this hadith as evidence leads to the denial of hadiths that came specifically to legislate a ruling among people, which are the hadiths that came in many wordings: , in some narrations, which are more general and comprehensive: - meaning: absolutely - . These hadiths came for legislation, so we do not contradict them with the hadith of the "za'inah"; because it did not come for legislation, but rather came as a report from the reports of the unseen.
Therefore, using the hadith of the "za'inah" as evidence for the opinion of Malik and other imams that it is permissible for trustworthy women in their morals and religion to travel without a mahram; the evidence from the hadith of the "za'inah" is not valid for the two reasons we mentioned.
The summary of this is: that the hadith of the "za'inah" speaks about the single woman, and the claim is more specific than the evidence, as the scholars of usul al-fiqh say. And secondly: because the hadith of the "za'inah," even though it is a report about the unseen, does not include a legal ruling; it is contrary to the hadiths that came directly for legislation, which is the prohibition of the Messenger (peace be upon him) of a woman traveling except with a mahram. Then, this opinion cannot be relied upon in terms of reality. Perhaps some of you have been afflicted, like me, by reading the book "The Collar of the Dove" by Ibn Hazm. He will find there a lesson for those who take heed, clarifying that this opinion [that] trustworthy women are permitted to travel. Whoever reads the story mentioned by Ibn Hazm will be fully convinced that this opinion, despite its contradiction with the generality of his statement (peace be upon him): ; that story confirms that women left from the Maghreb with men, and performed Hajj on a ship. So, when they were returning, they fell into immorality, either with the captain of the ship or one of the workers on it. So what is the value of a trustworthy woman traveling with trustworthy women? Women are weak, so this legal ruling came to protect their chastity.
And we mention on this occasion that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), the All-Knowing of the natures of humans, and especially of them women, places barriers and limits between them and falling into immorality, even if it is for a long time. And perhaps you remember that the prohibited things are divided into two categories:
Some are prohibited in themselves, and some are prohibited for the sake of something else. So, what is prohibited in itself is prohibited absolutely. As for what is prohibited for the sake of something else, it is because it leads to what is prohibited in itself. As for what is prohibited for the sake of something else, let us imagine it blocks the path so that the Muslim does not reach what is prohibited for the sake of something else, even if the mind strongly considers it unlikely that he will fall into it. But it happens, even once. We know, for example, that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited prayer in the disliked times when the sun rises and when it sets, and that Satan comes out with his horns when the sun sets and when it rises. So it is not permissible for a Muslim to intentionally pray at that time. Why? To block the means to harm, even though if one of us prayed at these two times, it would never occur to him to pray, and to prostrate to Satan at sunrise and sunset. Rather, the prohibition is from the perspective of blocking the means to harm. As he prohibited, for example, looking at a woman and listening to her, as came in the authentic hadiths known to you. So, it is not necessary for us to imagine that every woman who travels without a mahram is likely to fall into immorality, or a group of women traveling without a mahram. It is not necessary to imagine that they will fall into immorality. But so that they do not fall into immorality, the Messenger (peace be upon him) conditions the mahram, as came in the hadith. So, a person should not say, as we hear today, for example, that traveling by plane from here to Damascus takes two hours, or, for example, to Oman. Is there no barrier to a woman traveling? Because her mahram deposits her here and another mahram receives her there. But this journey, where she has no mahram, the woman may be exposed to falling into the immorality that the Messenger (peace be upon him) prevented, when he came with the ruling, the condition of the mahram, between her and it.
Likewise, some incidents occurred in which there is a lesson. One of our companions in Damascus told us from the tongue of a husband who was harmed in the honor of his wife; because she traveled only from Damascus to Deir al-Zor. Damascus and Deir al-Zor by plane is only half an hour. Nevertheless, this man was harmed in the honor of his wife. How did that happen? The woman boarded the plane from Damascus after she informed her husband by phone that the plane would be at Deir al-Zor airport in half an hour. So he went out to receive her. But the plane did not come. What happened? Exactly what is called today a flight attendant happened to this woman. He was pleased with her beauty, so he conveyed her news to the captain of the plane. They agreed to seduce her. She was convinced by that. So the captain announced to the passengers that the plane had a malfunction; so it was forced to land in Latakia. And there in Latakia, the captain spent with this woman, as they say, a red night! Then in the morning, the plane took off from Latakia to Deir al-Zor. When she met with her husband, he was suspicious of her. He did not stop discussing and questioning her until she confessed to the incident!
So, arguing that the distance is short does not invalidate the legal ruling at all. So, it is necessary for the woman to have a mahram with her, whether she travels by air, by sea, or by land. This condition must be maintained, and it is not permissible to be deceived by the fact that the matter is close, and that safety is guaranteed.
Likewise, one of our brothers in Jeddah told us that a man was harmed in the honor of his wife, and they were both Egyptians. He sent a telegram to Riyadh that his wife would be with you on such a trip, by such a plane. Some employees in the telegraph office saw the telegram and knew the arrival of this woman from Egypt to Riyadh. So two or three of them agreed to go out to receive her, pretending that they were ordered to do so by her husband. So they actually received her from the airport and put her in their car with this false claim. They went out with her and satisfied their desire from her. What is the benefit of her traveling from Egypt to Riyadh without a mahram? The incident happened, and the calamity occurred in Riyadh itself.
Therefore, we must strive to preserve the texts in their exact wording; for the matter is as the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said to her: . She said, "O Messenger of Allah, and peace be upon you, you see what we do not see." The Messenger of Allah, to whom revelation is sent from the heavens, sees of the legislative rulings what not all people see. So when he said: ; then traveling by plane from here to there, if it is considered travel, it is not permissible to violate this condition established by the Messenger (peace be upon him).
And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.