why can't woman travel on their own?

saffanah

saffanah

speak good or silent
Assalamualaikum sisters and brothers here I've found a nice article from islamicknowledge.co.uk, hope it's beneficial...

Woman Travelling on their own, without Husband or a Mahram (mahram is a person whom they are forbidden to marry, i.e. Father, Brother, Paternal/Maternal Uncle, Grandfather).

It is not permissible for a woman to travel without a mahram, whether the journey is for an act of worship such as Hajj or visiting and honouring her parents, or it is a permissible journey such as a vacation and the like. The evidence for that is as follows:
1 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman should travel except with a mahram, and no man should enter upon a woman unless her mahram is with her.” A man said, O Messenger of Allaah, I want to go out with such-and-such an army and my wife wants to go to Hajj. He said, “Go (to Hajj) with her.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1862).
Muslim (1339) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to travel the distance of one day, except with a mahram.”
And there are many ahaadeeth which forbid a woman to travel without a mahram; they are general in meaning and apply to all kinds of travel.
2 – Travel may be exhausting and difficult, and because of her weakness a woman needs someone to help her and stand by her. Something may happen that makes her lose her mind and behave contrary to her nature if she has no mahram with her. This is something that is often seen nowadays because there are so many accidents with cars and other means of transportation.
Moreover, travelling alone may expose her to temptation and evil, especially as there is a great deal of corruption. There may be people sitting near her who do not fear Allaah, and they may try to tempt her to do haraam things. So it is only wise that she should be accompanied by a mahram when travelling, because the purpose of having a mahram with her is to protect her and look after her. Travel is a situation in which unexpected things are expected to happen regardless of the amount of time the journey may take.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The point is that everything that is called travel is forbidden for a woman without a husband or mahram”. More than one of the scholars narrated that the fuqaha’ were unanimously agreed that a woman is not allowed to travel without a mahram, except in exceptional cases.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: al-Baghawi said: They did not differ concerning the fact that a woman may not travel for anything but the obligatory Hajj except with a husband or mahram, except a kaafir woman who becomes Muslim in daar al-harb or a female captive who escapes. Others added: or a woman who becomes separated from her group and is found by a trustworthy man, in which case it is permissible for him to accompany her until he brings her back to her group. [Fath al-Baari (4/76).]
The scholars differed as to whether it is permissible for a woman to travel for the obligatory Hajj without a mahram. The correct scholarly view is that it is not permissible.
Woman doing Hajj with a group of women and with no mahram.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This action – Hajj without a mahram – is haraam because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, when he was delivering a sermon, “No woman should travel except with a mahram.” A man stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, my wife has set out for Hajj, and I have signed up for such-and-such a military campaign.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Go and do Hajj with your wife.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3006; Muslim, 1341.]
So it is not permissible for a woman to travel without a mahram. A mahram is a man whom she is forever forbidden to marry because of blood ties or for a permissible reason. This is also subject to the condition that he be an adult of sound mind. A minor child cannot be a mahram, and neither can one who is not of sound mind. The reason for a mahram’s presence being required is so that he can look after her and protect her, so that she will not be bothered by those who do not fear Allaah and do not show mercy to the slaves of Allaah.
It makes no difference whether there are other women with her or not, or whether she is safe or not. Even if she goes with women from her own family and she is extremely safe, it is not permissible for her to travel without a mahram, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that man to go and perform Hajj with his wife, he did not ask whether there were other women with her or not, or whether she was safe or not. The fact that he did not ask about that indicates that it makes no difference. This is the correct view.
Some people nowadays take the matter lightly and allow women travelling alone in a plane without a mahram. This undoubtedly goes against the clear meaning of the texts. Travel by plane is like any other kind of travel and still involves danger.
If the mahram of a woman travelling by plane takes her to the airport, as soon as she reaches the departure hall, he has to leave her there, then she is on her own without a mahram. The plane may leave on time or it may be late. It may leave on time but then have to come back for some reason, or it may land in another airport which is not the one she was heading for, and so on. It may land in the airport she is heading for after the expected time for some reason. If it happens that it lands on time, the mahram who is supposed to meet her may be late for some reason, either because he overslept or because of traffic congestion, or because his car broke down, or for some other reason. And even if he is there on time and meets the woman, there may have been a man sitting next to her on the plane who would deceive her and may like her and she likes him.
The point is that women should fear Allaah and not travel for Hajj or for any other reason except with a mahram who is an adult of sound mind. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.

Reference: Daleel al-Akhta’ allati yaqa’a fiha al-Haaj wa’l-Mu’tamir (mistakes made by pilgrims performing Hajj and ‘Umrah)​
 
ShyHijabi

ShyHijabi

Junior Member
Salaam,

I am still trying to find out how I can abide by the rules given that I have no mahrem? I ama convert and not married so I wonder if there is some sort of loophole for one like myself?

Wasalaam

~Sarah
 
H

hqudrat

Junior Member
:salam2:
thanks for the beautiful post JazakAllah khair.

i just want to ask what in a situation where by u are a student and u have to travel from where u live to school?

in my own case i'm yet to be married and i live in canada in which i have to travel from my home which is two flight to my school.

:wasalam:

:tti_sister:
 
S

saif

Junior Member
Assalamu Alaikum,

I really don't want to confuse anybody here but sisters Sarah and Hqudrat have raised a serious question, which needs to be addressed.

The post by Saffanah is surely based on a Hadith and supported by fataawah of some scholars, but I just want to point out, that there is another opinion too, which is also based on a broader study of ahadith. We must remember, that it is Quran and Sunnah, which is above criticism but not the fiqh or a particular interpretation of Quran and Sunnah. The following text is copied from www . understanding - islam . com. I hope it helps

Question:

I am a medical student studying in the Caribbean.

There are quite a few Muslims here. There are a few sisters studying here by themselves. This is not a Muslim country and a lot of haraam goes on here just like in a lot of other western countries and even some Muslim countries. Now a lot of these sisters are being told that it is haraam for them to be here without a Mehram[1] (or a protector).

What is your opinion on this? Is it Haraam for them to be here alone? Please state your evidence if you can.

If it is wrong for them to live here, what advice do you have for them? Their families spend a lot of money in their education and are waiting for them to return as doctors!!


Answer:

There are a few differences in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the referred issue. According to some narratives, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that a woman should not undertake a journey of over three nights alone, without the company of a mehram relation. While other narratives simply state that a woman should not take up any journey without the company of a mehram relation. With a close look at these narratives, in the perspective of the social directives of the Qur'an and those ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), it actually seems that the referred issue is actually not a part of the Shari`ah but an advice to Muslim women to be very careful in all such matters that may, in any way, effect their reputation. In my opinion, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have directed women to avoid traveling alone so that no one gets an opportunity to spread a negative word about them and thereby defame chaste women. It should also be noted that these narratives actually relate to taking up long journeys, not to staying away from one's home. Undertaking journeys, especially in the times of the Prophet (pbuh) was not an easy task. It had its inherent dangers and hazards. It seems that the Prophet (pbuh) actually advised Muslim women to avoid taking up these inherent dangers of a long journey alone.

It may, sometimes become indispensable for a woman to travel alone. In such a situation a woman should try to make arrangements of traveling in a group of other women and if she has to stay away from her home, to stay with a group of women. It is also advisable for Muslim countries to try and form female student groups etc. while sending their female students abroad, so that the individual ladies are saved from the trouble of finding a reliable company for themselves.

It should also remain clear that forming female groups is only one solution to the stated problem, any other solution, which may help in solving the problem may be adopted. The real issue is not what solution we adopt, but actually our realization of the gravity of being careless about the repute and the 'good name' of an individual and the importance of safeguarding it, especially in the case of our sisters.

13th March 1999
 
saffanah

saffanah

speak good or silent
:salam2:

brother saif jazakallah khairan for the answer of sister sarah's and sister hqudrat's confusion.
Yes, there're also another opinion from scholars like what brother saif have posted for us, and I think they're know more about this deen(Islam) than us. So, ask the people who know if we do not know, as what the prophet said in a hadith.
And, I hope sister sarah and sister hqudrat will be married soon then you have a body guard to protect you in your travels :)
Barakallahu fikum
 
S

Solemn_G

Junior Member
saif said:
Assalamu Alaikum,

I really don't want to confuse anybody here but sisters Sarah and Hqudrat have raised a serious question, which needs to be addressed.

The post by Saffanah is surely based on a Hadith and supported by fataawah of some scholars, but I just want to point out, that there is another opinion too, which is also based on a broader study of ahadith. We must remember, that it is Quran and Sunnah, which is above criticism but not the fiqh or a particular interpretation of Quran and Sunnah. The following text is copied from www . understanding - islam . com. I hope it helps

Question:

I am a medical student studying in the Caribbean.

There are quite a few Muslims here. There are a few sisters studying here by themselves. This is not a Muslim country and a lot of haraam goes on here just like in a lot of other western countries and even some Muslim countries. Now a lot of these sisters are being told that it is haraam for them to be here without a Mehram[1] (or a protector).

What is your opinion on this? Is it Haraam for them to be here alone? Please state your evidence if you can.

If it is wrong for them to live here, what advice do you have for them? Their families spend a lot of money in their education and are waiting for them to return as doctors!!


Answer:

There are a few differences in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the referred issue. According to some narratives, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that a woman should not undertake a journey of over three nights alone, without the company of a mehram relation. While other narratives simply state that a woman should not take up any journey without the company of a mehram relation. With a close look at these narratives, in the perspective of the social directives of the Qur'an and those ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), it actually seems that the referred issue is actually not a part of the Shari`ah but an advice to Muslim women to be very careful in all such matters that may, in any way, effect their reputation. In my opinion, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have directed women to avoid traveling alone so that no one gets an opportunity to spread a negative word about them and thereby defame chaste women. It should also be noted that these narratives actually relate to taking up long journeys, not to staying away from one's home. Undertaking journeys, especially in the times of the Prophet (pbuh) was not an easy task. It had its inherent dangers and hazards. It seems that the Prophet (pbuh) actually advised Muslim women to avoid taking up these inherent dangers of a long journey alone.

It may, sometimes become indispensable for a woman to travel alone. In such a situation a woman should try to make arrangements of traveling in a group of other women and if she has to stay away from her home, to stay with a group of women. It is also advisable for Muslim countries to try and form female student groups etc. while sending their female students abroad, so that the individual ladies are saved from the trouble of finding a reliable company for themselves.

It should also remain clear that forming female groups is only one solution to the stated problem, any other solution, which may help in solving the problem may be adopted. The real issue is not what solution we adopt, but actually our realization of the gravity of being careless about the repute and the 'good name' of an individual and the importance of safeguarding it, especially in the case of our sisters.

13th March 1999
Click to expand...
As-salaamu alaykum,

What I noticed from the response from this website is that it contained no quotations of the Hadeeth to support the view as well as no opinions of any notable scholars. Usually, when a question is answered by someone of knowledge they reference the Qur'an and Hadeeth as well as give an idea of the scholarly consensus, as was done in the opening post. I'm saying this because I have visited websites in which people will give answers that are misleading and comprimising to the rules of the Shari'ah. If someone ends up following such opinion then they may end up doing haraam when they were informed that it was halal. Just be wary and look for credible and supported opinions or you might end up following the views of someone who lacks proper knowledge of Islam.

Wa salaam
 
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