Is it permissible for a woman to travel without a Mahram or a Husband?

Is it permissible for a woman to travel without a Mahram or a Husband?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

It is not permissible for a woman to travel a distance of three days without her husband or a Maḥram (unmarriageable kin) (Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ, 3: 208). The Prophet ﷺ said, “It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the final day to travel a distance of three nights without a Maḥram [or a husband]” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1338). According to jurists, the distance of three days travel is 48 Sharʿī miles, which is equivalent to 54.5 English miles (Aḥsan al-Fatāwā, 4: 94). Thus, it is not permissible for a woman to travel more than this distance unless she is accompanied by her husband or a Maḥram. This applies to any form of travel including the journey for obligatory Ḥajj (Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq, 2: 5).

Allah knows best

Yusuf Shabbir

24 Jumādā al-Thāniyah 1427 / 20 July 2006

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