Sisters travelling to Darul Ulooms without Mahram

[Antivirus]

Very recently, I was witnessing a discussion among family members regarding the issue of girls travelling to Darul Ulooms without Mahram for their studies.

At the outset, I would like to point out the fact that unfortunately in my home country there isnt any darul ulooms of high caliber for sisters to pursue their alima courses and the best alternative is South Africa, which is 4 1/2hrs - 5hrs by plane + whatever time it takes them to reach the Darul Uloom from the airport, which is thus more than 77kms.

Now the cost implications is quite high for an average earner here to afford a ticket to accompany the sisters as a mahram to the Darul Ulooms. So what basically happens in most cases is that sisters travel with a group of other sisters (maybe 2 or 3) to the Darul Ulooms and in certain situations a few have to travel on their own. They however maintain strict pardah.

One of the brothers who was involved in the discussion mentioned the fact that for girls to travel on their own without mahram, or with a group of girls without mahram, is absolutely prohibited in shariah. He said so after having a phone conversation with one of the muftis at Darul Uloom Deoband. The Mufti even mentioned to him that it is better for the sisters to stay at home rather than going to the Darul Ulooms for their alima courses. This one got me perplexed.

I would like to know what is the hanafi rule regarding the above as I do have a cousin who is pursuing her alima courses in SA and comes for holidays every Ramadan with a group of other girls but without any male mahram. The reason is that her father cannot afford to go and pick her up in SA to come to here and go and drop her again after Ramadan, but still makes a massive effort so that her daughter can at least come to spend Ramadan here.

So is it wrong to travel without mahram? What about those sisters who travel on their own to Darul Ulooms or in group of girls? Is it better for them to stay at home and not do their alima courses?

[Talib84]

Assalamu Alaikum

I am not answering your question , but I would just like to say that in theory, we always hear that women can never travel without a Mahram and this is reflected in the answers i read from the fatawas online. In practice however, the immediate family of many respected Aalims travel without a Mahram (and it is not a life or death situation). So therefore I have no choice but to assume that there is some fatwa which allows women to travel on a plane without a Mahram, but I just havent seen it yet.

[Antivirus]

Assalamu Alaikum

I am not answering your question , but I would just like to say that in theory, we always hear that women can never travel without a Mahram and this is reflected in the answers i read from the fatawas online. In practice however, the immediate family of many respected Aalims travel without a Mahram (and it is not a life or death situation). So therefore I have no choice but to assume that there is some fatwa which allows women to travel on a plane without a Mahram, but I just havent seen it yet.

I always thought so as well but then the response from the Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband is what is intriguing me most. I am still waiting for one of the ulamas of SF to clear this out for the benefit of everyone, especially those who have close relatives who travel to Darul Ulooms on their own or in group of sisters but without any male mahram.

[Mathbooh]

An immediate family member was the most senior ustadh at a girls madrassah in S.A. where many students from moz. study.This is an unjustifiable situation according to the hanafi mathab,and is just one of the many problems with girls madrasah's

was salaam

[Antivirus]

An immediate family member was the most senior ustadh at a girls madrassah in S.A. where many students from moz. study.This is an unjustifiable situation according to the hanafi mathab,and is just one of the many problems with girls madrasah's

was salaam

So basically you want to imply that the Mufti from Darul Uloom Deoband was right in saying that girls should remain at home rather than travelling on their own or with a group of girls to Darul Ulooms for their alima courses, even though strict pardah is maintained?

Note that I am not questionning or arguing what the Mufti said but rather I am just trying to know whether there is any fatwa which permits girls to travel in group of girls to Darul Uloooms but without any male mahram, if strict pardah is maintained.

[hyneln2000]

So basically you want to imply that the Mufti from Darul Uloom Deoband was right in saying that girls should remain at home rather than travelling on their own or with a group of girls to Darul Ulooms for their alima courses, even though strict pardah is maintained?

Note that I am not questionning or arguing what the Mufti said but rather I am just trying to know whether there is any fatwa which permits girls to travel in group of girls to Darul Uloooms but without any male mahram, if strict pardah is maintained.

If you know urdu Mufti Saeed answers the women travelling question. Listen from 10:10 onwards.

http://www.talksofdeen.com/SAEED/Sae...Sun14Sep08.mp3

[Antivirus]

If you know urdu Mufti Saeed answers the women travelling question. Listen from 10:10 onwards.

http://www.talksofdeen.com/SAEED/Sae...Sun14Sep08.mp3

My level of urdu is very very weak unfortunately. Can you please jot down a few main points from the talk of Mufti Saeed and how it answers the questions I have raised.

[UmHasan]

So is it wrong to travel without mahram? What about those sisters who travel on their own to Darul Ulooms or in group of girls? Is it better for them to stay at home and not do their alima courses?

It is not permissible for a woman to undertake a journey exceeding 48 miles without a mahram, whether that be from a madrasah or any other place. According to the Ahnaaf, travelling with a group of girls without a mahram is not permissible either. You last question is a matter of personal opinion and you will find the scholars personal views differ in it.

[Umm_Umara]

The scholars have differed on the length of this distance. Many scholars are of the opinion that it is 16 Farsakh, and each Farsakh equals three miles, thus totalling to 48 miles. (See: Faydh al-Bari ala Sahih al-Bukhari, 2/397)

Thus, the Hanafi Fuqaha are very clear, in that a woman must not travel to the distance of three days without her husband or Mahram accompanying her.

The great Hanafi Jurist, Imam al-Kasani (Allah have mercy on him) states: “One of the conditions for the permissibility of a woman travelling for Hajj is that she is accompanied by her husband or a Mahram. If neither of them is accompanying her, then Hajj will not be obligatory.

Our (Hanafi school) proof is what Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) that he said: “Verily, a woman must no travel for Hajj except that her Mahram is accompanying her”. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) also said: “A woman must not travel except that her Mahram or Husband is with her”. Also, a woman is unsafe if her husband or Mahram is not accompanying her, and this is the reason why it is even impermissible for her to travel on her own (meaning, not in the company of a stranger, m), and this fear (of their safety, m) is increased when they are in a group. This is the reason why it is impermissible for a man to be in seclusion (khalwa) with a non-Mahram woman even if she has another woman accompanying her.” (Bada’i al-Sana’i, 2/1230)

[Antivirus]

It is not permissible for a woman to undertake a journey exceeding 48 miles without a mahram, whether that be from a madrasah or any other place. According to the Ahnaaf, travelling with a group of girls without a mahram is not permissible either.

Aapa Soupy for taking the time to respond.

It is much clearer now that it is indeed not permissible in any case for sisters to travel without mahram for a distance of more than 48 miles, whether individually or in group of girls.

You last question is a matter of personal opinion and you will find the scholars personal views differ in it.

With regards to those scholars who are more lenient in allowing sisters to travel in group with other sisters to go to Darul Ulooms, are you aware of any such fatwa from a reliable scholar/iftaa who permits it? Or it is just a matter of personal opinion as you stated with no official fatwa being issued for such a situation.