We are a group of young Muslim women of different nationalities working in one of the Gulf states as teachers and doctors, and the state provides us with collective housing.

The questioner : Your Eminence, we received a message from al-Hayarat from a group of young Muslim women of different nationalities who work in one of the Gulf states as teachers and doctors. The state provides collective housing for single female teachers. Given that travel to and from this state is by airplane, are we considered to be in violation of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that ? And is the money we earn considered forbidden money? What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding our travel and residence for a year without a mahram, in a group of Muslim women? We ask for your guidance. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. It is known that it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon, saying: He did not restrict it to three days, and the restriction varies in amount, some saying a day and a night, and some saying three days. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) considered travel to be absolute, so any journey that is called travel, it is not permissible for a woman to undertake it except with a mahram. And in the hadith of Ibn Abbas that I mentioned, he said: "So a man said: O Messenger of Allah, my wife has gone out for Hajj, and I have enrolled in such and such an expedition. He said: Go

So perform Hajj with your wife.

فحج مع امرأتك

" So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to leave the expedition and go out with his wife to perform Hajj with her. This is evidence of the emphasis on the mahram. In this hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not ask this man for details, meaning he did not ask him: Are there women with your wife? Is she safe or not? Is she young or old? None of that was asked, which indicates that the command is general and that the ruling is not specific to one situation over another, and that it is not permissible for a woman to travel except with a mahram.
As for what was mentioned in the question about them being women of various nationalities who came to one of the Gulf states for teaching, medicine, and other things, then this matter, as they said at the beginning of the question, is one in which they are confused, so I am also confused in it and I do not issue a ruling on it. Allah knows best.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. May Allah bless you, O Shaykh Muhammad.