عورت خاوند یا محرم کے بغیر حج کو نہیں جا سکتی

It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Let no man be alone in seclusion with a woman (that is, an unrelated man and woman should not gather alone in any place), and let no woman travel without a mahram.” Hearing this, a man said: O Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم! My name has already been enrolled for such and such an expedition (that is, for the campaign that is at hand, my name too has been written among the army that is to go, that I should go along with the army), while my wife has resolved upon the journey of Hajj? (That is, what is the ruling for me now, what should I do — should I go for the campaign and let my wife go alone for Hajj, or go with my wife and not go on the campaign?) He صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Go and perform Hajj with your wife (because there are many who will go on the campaign, but apart from you there is no mahram to travel with your wife).” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Jihad wa’s-Siyar, hadith no. 3006; Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Hajj, hadith no. 1341)

For a man to be alone with a woman when her husband or some other mahram of hers is not present with her in the house is an extremely dangerous matter; on such occasions Satan can lead them astray, and under Satan’s temptation they may fall into a wrongful act. Indeed, in one narration it comes in this way: whenever a man and a woman who are not mahram to each other are together, the third with them is Satan. (Al-Hadith) For this reason the Shari‘ah has strictly forbidden it, because even if they do not commit any wrongful act, an opportunity can still arise for someone to be defamed unjustly — for seclusion in any case gives rise to ill thoughts.

Because of disregarding this guidance of the Islamic Shari‘ah, great corruption has arisen in our society. In those homes where, in accordance with this ruling of the Shari‘ah, the observance of the lawful veil and the avoidance of non-mahrams is not maintained, there a woman is caught up in love with her own brother-in-law or some other close relative, or a man is made captive by the snare of affection for some close female relative of his own. Indeed, nowadays, going even beyond this, the whole business of boyfriends and girlfriends has thrown wide open the paths of sexual licence even with those who are not relatives. Because of not acting upon these commands of the Shari‘ah, the peace and comfort of countless households in our society has been ruined; yet even so, Muslims are not prepared to adopt the lawful veil in accordance with the guidance of their religion. May Allah Almighty grant Muslims a correct understanding of their religion and a true zeal for acting upon it. Ameen.

In the same way there is guidance for a woman that she should not travel the distance that counts as a journey, or more than that distance, without her husband or a mahram. To do so is unlawful for a woman. As it comes in another narration in this way: it is not permissible for any woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to undertake a journey of one day and one night without a mahram. (On the authority of Bukhari and Muslim) Even in the journey of Hajj, the accompaniment of her husband or of some mahram is a condition for Hajj becoming obligatory upon a woman. That is, Hajj becomes obligatory upon a woman only when her husband or a mahram is with her.

With regard to the condition of a mahram, it is necessary to keep the following points in mind. (1) A woman’s mahram is her husband, or any person with whom marriage to that woman is forever unlawful, whether by reason of blood relationship, or by the bond of suckling, or by the tie of marriage. (2) For the journey of Hajj it is necessary that the woman’s mahram be of sound mind and of age; children who have not reached maturity do not fulfil the condition of a mahram in Hajj, and the reckoning of having reached maturity is a minimum age of fifteen (15) years.