Women travelling without a mahram

Question: 4523

I understand that a woman to travel by herself for the duration of a day and a night without a mahram is haram. However the speed of air travel which takes at most 8 hours. Is it halal for a woman be dropped off at the departing airport by a mahram and picked up at the destination airport by another mahram? The total journey would be at most 10 hours.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

It is not permissible for a woman to travel without a mahram because of the general meaning of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “It is not permissible for any woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel except with a mahram.”

And because the purpose for the mahram being there is so that he can protect her and take care of her, especially if any emergency arises, and travel is subject to emergencies regardless of the length of time involved. Whatever people regard as “travelling” is like this, and is subject to the rulings on travelling.

For more on the rulings on mahrams, see Question # 5538

Source:

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

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