taxis and khalwa

[layman]

asalaam walaikum
Ok so there are many brothers out there doing taxis. I was wondering, does anyone know how they deal with the khalwa issue? I read on sunnipath that it is considered khalwa if it is during the night- which is when most of the taxi drivers work. I suppose if they see a woman on her own stick out her arm they ignore her, but what if theyve accepted a job over the radio and on arriving find its a woman on her own?
Or he picks up a group of women and all but one leave the taxi at one destination and the other says i wanna carry on to x street?

[Yahya]

Perhaps the separation/border between them plays into this as well...?

[IlyasLahoz]

Can a Woman Ride in a Taxi Alone with a Male Driver? (http://sunnipath.com/resources/Questions/QA00001360.aspx)

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

[layman]

Hmmm, this is what it says in the link AlexLahoz gave

"within the city and during day time, when there are people around, this would not be a khalwa, as others can see them, and would therefore be permitted.

Outside the city, and at night, when people are not expected to see them, this would be a khalwa, and therefore be impermissible, unless there are others with them."

But what about in the city and at night?

[Sunni_Student786]

Please bear in mind that, according to the answer provided to this issue on Sunnipath.com, the scholar who seems to have adopted the view that riding alone with a non-mahram in a taxi is not khalwa during the day inside of town, Shaykh Mustafa Zarqa, was, though a huge Hanafi Faqih, VERY lenient (emphasis is my own).

[Ansari]

Please bear in mind that, according to the answer provided to this issue on Sunnipath.com, the scholar who seems to have adopted the view that riding alone with a non-mahram in a taxi is not khalwa during the day inside of town, Shaykh Mustafa Zarqa, was, though a huge Hanafi Faqih, VERY lenient (emphasis is my own).
:salam:
Can you mention some lenient opinions of him? Have you read any of his other views/books or have you just heard that he is lenient like its mentioned by Shaykh Faraz??

JazaakAllah

[faqir]

"Knowledge for us means knowledge of the allowance/dispensation (rukhsa).

As for strictness, anyone can show strictness."



(Imam Sufyan al-Thawri, rahimahullah)

[theory]

I have an idea maybe it will not solve this issue, but some taxis now fit cameras for security reasons, if you fit a security camera it means some one could see the two passengers right?

[AbuZaid]

As Salaam Alaikum

Khalwah means being Alone in such a way that there is no barrier between the two and is not accessible to the public.
In this case we do not find the definition of khalwa.
Because it is not Khalwa, We will need to find out what is stopping it from being Halal. The main reason is that when two people of the opposite sex are alone in a place then the third person is Shaytan. Shaytan continues putting Haraam thoughts in the male and female's mind.

But before looking ahead we will need to see if it is possible to eliminate this thought. In Hadeeth we find that Ta’awwudh is effective in eliminating this thought. Also there are many Duas which are effective in this.

Looking into this we find the famous Usool Ul Fiqh (Principle which is used to derive Rulings of Fiqh) that “possibility (Ihtimaal) is not the same as doubt (shakk)”.This means that if something is possible then something that is doubtful cannot come over it.
In this case we find that driving a girl in a taxi can lead to Haraam if a person doesn’t recite his Duas. Therefore if the Duas are read, then Shaytan is not there to put his Haraam thoughts.
This means that committing Haraam in this case is possible but this possibility can be removed.

If there was no way of removing the Haraam then it would have come under the category of doubt. The reason is that, regarding the guy who was driving the girl it can be doubted that he might have committed Haraam.

Therefore the result will be that one is allowed to drive a taxi.

Wallahu Alam
Abu Zaid Uthman Bin Mahmood

[salman]

Salamu Alaikum

Maulana can you clarify what you are saying?

Also, how is the fiqhi maxim "Certainty is not lifted by doubt" applicable to such a situation?

Wasalam

[AbuZaid]

As Salaam Alaikum
first of all to erase all confusion, I want to point out that I do not consider this to be khalwa because it is aAccessible to the public when khalwa is considered Khalwa when it i not acceccable to public at all. it is just like following someone on a road when noone is there.
secondly, the point I am trying to make is that there is a difference between something which is doubtful and something which can be doubtful.
In this case, the driving of a taxi is something which can be doubtful and not something which is doubtful. Because it isnt Khalwa in the first place then we will need to see what other reasons can it become Haraam by. It can be Haraam because of the Ahadeeth which mention that Shaytan puts Haraam thoughts in the individuals head. If the thoughts were to come from some other means which cannot be erased then the driving of a taxi becomes something which is doubtful. However this is not the case. Now, because of the Ahadeeth which mentions the remedy of removing these thoughts, it means that driving a taxi with a Non Mahrim is something which can be doubtful and not something which i doubtful.

So there is a difference between something which is doubtful and something which can be doubtful. Something which can be doubtful can eventually be un-doubtful but something which is doubtful can never be un-doubtful because it is doubtful.

If the individual driving the taxi recites his duas and takes the remedies for these Haraam thoughts then there is no question of the act of driving being doubtful at all because there is no fear of Haraam.
The principal “Al yaqeen Laa yazoolo Bish Shak” Certainty is not lifted by doubt is another support to my opinion because when the individual is reciting these duas there is Yaqeen that there can be no Haraam. If one doesn’t believe in this Yaqeen then this is a kind of rejecting what is mentioned in Hadeeth. The reason is that if the doctors give a remedy for something it is possible not to work but when it is a remedy given by Allah and his Rasul then who is there to doubt it.

The result is that when it is certain that there is no Haraam involved then what is stopping it from being Halaal.

This is my opinion and is taken based on consultation with a few ulema of the Hanafi schools of thought. They have asked me not to disclose their names.
Jazaak Allahu Khair
Abu Zaid Uthman Bin Mahmood

[AbuZaid]

As Salaam Alaikum

I would like to add that there is a difference between Fatwa and Taqwa.
As a Muftin who was asked a question I will give the fatwa but as a brother in Islam I will say that Taqwa is the best approach in such situations.
Therefore if one is able to get someone else to drive the female then it would be better and more suitable. However Taqwa should be applied by the individuals driving taxies when it comes to picking up females.

Jazaak Allahu Khair
Abu Zaid UThman Bin Mahmood

[Sunni_Student786]

But AbuZaid, could someone apply the same argument that you have above to justify a male picking up a female in his taxi, i.e. that the recitation of the dua to keep shaitan away is sufficient enough to prevent zinah from occurring, to also simply being alone with a female in a room? Could he not say "I will be alone with her in a room and simply recite the 'tawwaudh' and as such, Shaitan will leave the premises, and I will not be tempted to commit zinah with her and thus, you cannot say that such is haraam"?

If not, then why not?

[Sunni_Student786]

I will not answer any further questions on this issue.
Abu Zaid Uthman Bin Mahmood

I think I know why and hence why I will not even dignify the post above with a response.

With all due respect, even a laymen like myself can see so many holes and flaws in the above argument that it is laughable at best. If you had not written the disclaimer that you would not answer any further questions on the issue, I would have highlighted them.

[AbuZaid]

I think I know why and hence why I will not even dignify the post above with a response.

With all due respect, even a laymen like myself can see so many holes and flaws in the above argument that it is laughable at best. If you had not written the disclaimer that you would not answer any further questions on the issue, I would have highlighted them.

As Salaam Alaikum

May Allah bless you for your sincerity and efforts
Jazaak Allahu Khair
AbuZaid