/ No woman should travel on a two-day-distant journey except with her husband or a Mahram

No woman should travel on a two-day-distant journey except with her husband or a Mahram

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) - who fought along with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in twelve battles - reported: I heard four things from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that appealed to me. He said: "No woman should travel on a two-day-distant journey except with her husband or a Mahram. There should be no fasting on two days: Al-Fitr and Al-Ad'ha. There should be no prayer after the Fajr prayer until the sun rises nor after the ‘Asr prayer until the sun sets. No special journey should be made except to three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, the Aqsa Mosque, and this mosque of mine."
Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade four things: First: Forbidding a woman from traveling on a two-day-distant journey without her husband or one of her Mahram men, those who are permanently forbidden to marry her from among her relatives like the son, father, nephew, maternal or paternal uncle, etc. Second: Forbidding fasting on the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Ad'ha, whether a Muslim fasts them in fulfillment of a vow, voluntarily, or as an expiation. Third: Forbidding voluntary prayer after the ‘Asr prayer until sunset and after the rise of dawn until sunrise. Fourth: Forbidding traveling to a certain place while believing in its merit and the multiplication of rewards therein except to these three mosques. So, no special journey should be made to other mosques to pray therein, as the reward is multiplied only in these three mosques, namely the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet's Mosque, and the Aqsa Mosque.

Hadeeth benefits

  1. It is impermissible for a woman to travel without a Mahram.
  2. A woman cannot act as a Mahram for another woman in travel, as he said: "Her husband or a Mahram".
  3. A woman is forbidden from whatever is called travel without her husband or a Mahram, and this Hadīth was according to the questioner's condition and homeland.
  4. A woman's Mahram is her husband or one who is permanently forbidden to marry her by kinship like the father, son, paternal uncle, and maternal uncle; or by suckling like the foster (milk) father and the foster (milk) paternal uncle; or by marriage like the father-in-law. He should be Muslim, adult, sane, reliable, and trustworthy since the Mahram is expected to protect the woman, keep her safe, and look after her.
  5. The Islamic Shariah cares about women, protecting them, and keeping them safe.
  6. The invalidity of the unspecified voluntary prayer after the Fajr and ‘Asr prayers; however making up for missed obligatory prayers and voluntary prayers that have a cause like greeting the mosque and the like are excepted.
  7. It is prohibited to offer prayer immediately after sunrise; rather, it should be when the sun has risen by the height of a spear, i.e., almost ten to fifteen minutes after sunrise.
  8. The time of the ‘Asr prayer extends to sunset.
  9. It is permissible to make a special journey to the three mosques.
  10. The merit and advantage of the three mosques over other mosques.
  11. It is impermissible to travel to visit graves, even the Prophet's grave, yet it is permissible for those in Madīnah or those who go there for a lawful or permissible purpose to visit it.