𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 (621)

The Difference Between Khalwah and Travelling Without a Maḥram Sheikh Uthaymin rahimahullah said: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in goodness until the Day of Judgement. A woman does not become a maḥram for another woman, but having another woman with her does remove the situation of khalwah (being alone in seclusion with a non-maḥram man). Based on this, if a woman travels with a man who is not her maḥram and another woman accompanies them, then this is not permissible for either woman. However, if the man is a maḥram for one of the women, then it is not forbidden for the woman he is a maḥram to travel with him, but it is still not permissible for the other woman. This applies specifically to travel, because a woman is not allowed to travel except with a maḥram. Sadly, some people have become careless about this issue nowadays. Some women travel without a maḥram, especially by airplane. A woman may come to the airport, board the plane, and travel without a maḥram. I do not know what answer such a woman will give on the Day of Resurrection when she stands before Allah and is asked: “What was your response to the statement of the Prophet ﷺ when he said: ‘A woman should not travel except with a maḥram?’” I do not think she will have an answer, because everyone knows that travelling by plane is still considered travel. If it is travel, then what made it permissible for her to travel without a maḥram? Some people say: “We take the woman to the airport where the plane departs, accompany her to the waiting area, and perhaps walk with her until she boards the plane. Then her maḥram meets her when she lands at the destination airport.” The response is that safety from fitnah cannot be guaranteed even in this situation. It is possible that the plane takes off and then experiences a technical problem or a change in weather that forces it to land at another airport instead of the intended destination. In that case, where is her maḥram? Even if we assume that this does not happen and the plane reaches the intended airport, is it guaranteed that the maḥram who was supposed to meet her will actually be there? The answer is no. He may become ill, fall asleep, get stuck in traffic, or something else may happen. Therefore, this matter is very serious. In summary: any woman who wishes to travel must have a maḥram with her who is an adult and of sound mind. As for khalwah within the same town or city, it is not permissible for a woman to be alone with a male driver in a car, even for a short distance, due to the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “A man should not be alone with a woman except when she has a maḥram with her.” However, if another woman is with her and the driver is trustworthy, then this is not considered khalwah. There is no issue with her riding in the car with that woman, as long as the journey is not considered travel. In this case, we say that the presence of the accompanying woman removes khalwah, but we do not say that the accompanying woman is a maḥram. Rather, we distinguish between the two matters: Within the city, the issue is a man being alone with a woman. When travelling, the issue is a woman travelling without a maḥram. There is a clear difference between the two. Source: https://t.me/womensbenefits/1734