Is a woman a mahram for another woman in the presence of a non-mahram man?

The questioner : This is your sister in Allah, a woman from the outskirts of 'Afiif, asking: Is a woman a mahram for another woman in the presence of a non-mahram man?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. A woman does not become a mahram for another woman, but seclusion (khalwah) is removed by her presence. Therefore, if a woman travels with a man who is not one of her mahrams, and with her is another woman, then that is forbidden for both women, unless the man is a mahram for one of them. In that case, it is not forbidden for the woman for whom he is a mahram to travel with him, but it is forbidden for the other woman. This is regarding travel, because it is not permissible for a woman to travel except with a mahram.
The negligence of some people in this matter today is regrettable. Some people have become negligent, so a woman travels without a mahram, especially on airplanes. You find a woman arriving at the airport and boarding the plane without a mahram. I do not know what this woman’s answer will be on the Day of Resurrection when she stands before Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and He asks her: What did you answer the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said: I think she has no answer, because everyone knows that traveling by plane is travel. And if it is travel, what has made it permissible for her to travel without a mahram?
Some people say: We bring the woman to the airport from which the plane departs, and we take her into the waiting hall, and perhaps we walk with her until she enters the plane, and her mahram receives her when the plane lands at the destination airport. It is said that fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is not safe even in this case, because it is possible that the plane takes off from the airport and then a technical malfunction or a change in weather conditions occurs, necessitating that the plane land at an airport other than the intended one. In that case, where is the mahram? And if we assume that this does not happen and the plane heads to the airport it intends and lands there, is it certain that the mahram who was to receive her will be there? The answer is no. He may become ill, or fall asleep, or face traffic congestion, or something else may happen. So this matter is serious, very serious.
In summary, what I say is that any woman who wants to travel must have with her a mahram who is an adult and of sound mind.
As for seclusion in the city, it is not permissible for a woman to be alone with a driver in a car, even for a short distance, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): But if there is another woman with the woman, and the driver is trustworthy, then there is no seclusion, and there is no harm in her and the woman riding in the car, as long as her riding is not travel. In that case, we say that seclusion is removed by the accompanying woman, but we do not say that the accompanying woman was a mahram. Rather, we say that what is forbidden in the city is for a man to be alone with a woman, unlike travel. In travel, what is forbidden is for a woman to travel without a mahram. There is a clear difference between the two matters. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.