A woman asks: Is it permissible for a woman to travel from her country to the Kingdom without a mahram on an airplane, on the basis that her brother’s son or her parents will see her off?
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The questioner : The questioner says...
The Shaykh : ... Yes
The questioner : The questioner says: Is it permissible for a woman to travel from her country to the Kingdom without a mahram on an airplane, on the basis that her brother’s son or her father will see her off to the airport in her country and her husband will receive her at the airport there, given that her husband has circumstances preventing him from traveling to meet her? What is the ruling on this? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : Before I answer this question, I ask: Is travel by airplane considered travel?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, is travel by airplane travel or not? It is undoubtedly travel. And if it is travel, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as narrated by Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)Bulugh al-Maram 718. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to leave the expedition and go to his wife. This is evidence that it is not permissible for a woman to travel without a mahram.
Now, if someone says: Her mahram sees her off to the airport, and her second mahram receives her at the airport, and she is on the same plane with no danger or risk to her?
The answer is that we say: This does not justify her traveling without a mahram. Let us examine this issue: The mahram who sees her off, where does he take her? He takes her to the airport, and he may or may not enter the waiting hall. If we assume, in the best case, that he enters the waiting hall and stays with his wife, the woman will still go to the plane alone and board the plane alone. At that point, we say: Perhaps the plane’s departure will be delayed and the passengers will be ordered to get off. Where will this woman go? She will be lost, or someone who does not fear Allah and does not have mercy on her will pick her up.
And if we assume that the plane took off at its scheduled time, are we guaranteed that it will land at the airport it departed for? Answer: No. It may suffer a technical malfunction requiring it to go to another airport, or events may occur in the air preventing it from landing at the airport it traveled to. At that point, this plane travels and lands in another country. Where will the woman’s destination be? No, no one knows.
And if we assume that she is saved from this, are we guaranteed that the mahram who will receive her will arrive at the scheduled time? The answer is: No, because his car may break down, or he may fall asleep, or he may be involved in an accident and be unable to attend. And if we assume that she is saved from this, who will be beside her on the plane? Who? We do not know. It may be a man among the most wicked of Allah’s servants, and from that will come evil and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) whose outcome is not to be praised.
Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to travel, even by airplane, without a mahram. And the mahram can come with her and return to his work. Yes.
The Shaykh : ... Yes
The questioner : The questioner says: Is it permissible for a woman to travel from her country to the Kingdom without a mahram on an airplane, on the basis that her brother’s son or her father will see her off to the airport in her country and her husband will receive her at the airport there, given that her husband has circumstances preventing him from traveling to meet her? What is the ruling on this? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : Before I answer this question, I ask: Is travel by airplane considered travel?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, is travel by airplane travel or not? It is undoubtedly travel. And if it is travel, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as narrated by Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)
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."
أنه خطب الناس فقال : لا تسافر امرأة إلا مع ذي محرم . فقام رجل فقال يا رسول الله إن امرأتي خرجت حاجة وإني اكتتبت في غزوة كذا وكذا قال : انطلق فحج مع امرأتكNow, if someone says: Her mahram sees her off to the airport, and her second mahram receives her at the airport, and she is on the same plane with no danger or risk to her?
The answer is that we say: This does not justify her traveling without a mahram. Let us examine this issue: The mahram who sees her off, where does he take her? He takes her to the airport, and he may or may not enter the waiting hall. If we assume, in the best case, that he enters the waiting hall and stays with his wife, the woman will still go to the plane alone and board the plane alone. At that point, we say: Perhaps the plane’s departure will be delayed and the passengers will be ordered to get off. Where will this woman go? She will be lost, or someone who does not fear Allah and does not have mercy on her will pick her up.
And if we assume that the plane took off at its scheduled time, are we guaranteed that it will land at the airport it departed for? Answer: No. It may suffer a technical malfunction requiring it to go to another airport, or events may occur in the air preventing it from landing at the airport it traveled to. At that point, this plane travels and lands in another country. Where will the woman’s destination be? No, no one knows.
And if we assume that she is saved from this, are we guaranteed that the mahram who will receive her will arrive at the scheduled time? The answer is: No, because his car may break down, or he may fall asleep, or he may be involved in an accident and be unable to attend. And if we assume that she is saved from this, who will be beside her on the plane? Who? We do not know. It may be a man among the most wicked of Allah’s servants, and from that will come evil and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) whose outcome is not to be praised.
Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to travel, even by airplane, without a mahram. And the mahram can come with her and return to his work. Yes.