It is not lawful for a Muslim woman to travel the distance of one night unless accompanied by a man who is a Mahram (non-marriageable male relative) to her
Narrator in the source: Abu Hurayrah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not lawful for a Muslim woman to travel the distance of one night unless accompanied by a man who is a Mahram (non-marriageable male relative) to her."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Agreed upon
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 4521 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عن أبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا يَحِلُّ لِامْرَأَةٍ مُسْلِمَةٍ تُسَافِرُ مَسِيرَةَ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَّا وَمَعَهَا رَجُلٌ ذُو حُرْمَةٍ مِنْهَا».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that it is unlawful for a Muslim woman to travel a distance of one night unless accompanied by a man from her Mahrams.
Lessons from the hadith
- Ibn Hajar said: The impermissibility of a woman traveling without a Mahram, and this is a consensus except in the cases of Hajj and ‘Umrah, and leaving the land of Shirk (polytheism). However, some scholars have made this a condition for performing Hajj.
- The perfection of the Islamic Shariah and its deep concern for safeguarding and protecting women.
- Belief in Allah and the Last Day requires submission to the legislation of Allah and abidance by His limits.
- A woman's Mahram is her husband or someone who is permanently prohibited from marrying her due to blood relations, breastfeeding, or marriage ties. He must be a Muslim, adult, sane, trustworthy, and reliable, as the purpose of a Mahram is to protect and safeguard the woman and take care of her needs.
- Al-Bayhaqi said regarding the narrations related to the duration of travel for which a woman is not allowed to travel except with a Mahram: In conclusion, anything that is called travel, a woman is prohibited from undertaking it without a husband or a Mahram, whether it is for three days, two days, one day, a Barīd (a specific distance measurement), or anything else, due to the general indication of the narration of Ibn ‘Abbās, which is the last of Muslim's previous narrations: "A woman must not travel except with a Mahram." This applies to all that is called travel. End quote. This Hadīth was based on the condition of the questioner and his country.
References (original Arabic)
صحيح البخاري (2/ 43) (1088). صحيح مسلم (2/ 977) (1339). تيسير العلام، لعبد الله البسام (ص374). تنبيه الأفهام شرح عمدة الإحكام، لابن عثيمين (3/ 501). خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص178).
