I wish to go for Haj Insha Allah but I wish to go along with the group of people who are from my home town.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Assalamualikum
brother, I have a clarification regarding the above subject. I wish to go for
Haj Insha Allah but I wish to go along with the group of people who are from my
home town. Is this permissible since my son is young and my husband is not that
cooperative to accompany me.
Thank
u in advance for your reply
Wassalam
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Hajj without mahram
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Shariah Law dictates that the Hajj pilgrimage is only
obligatory on a believer who has the financial and physical means to afford the
journey; thus if one is financially or physically incapable of performing the
journey, such a person will not be accountable for not being able to fulfill
their obligation of Hajj in the Court of their Lord Most Merciful.
Secondly, there is also a concession in Shariah that if a
believing woman, although she may have the financial and physical ability to
perform her obligation of Hajj, but is unable to find a mehram to accompany her
to Hajj; she will be excused for not performing her Hajj in the Court of her
Lord Most Gracious.
Beloved Sister in Islam, it is
not as if the believing woman needs a mehram only to accompany her for the Hajj
pilgrimage; it is the command of Allah and His Messenger (saws) that a woman
who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day should not travel a
considerable distance to any destination without a mehram, for
her own protection.
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 2.194 Narrated by Abu
Huraira
The Prophet (saws)
said, "It is not permissible for a woman, who believes in Allah and the
Last Day, to travel for (a duration of) one
day and night except with a Mahram."
This Command of the prohibition
of travel without a mehram is applicable to every travel of the believing
woman, the duration of which exceeds a day and a night; but unfortunately, some
people today have applied this law only to the Hajj travel, but do not apply it
to all the other travels they make.
Your Question: I
wish to go for Haj Insha Allah but I wish to go along with the group of people
who are from my home town.
We reiterate again sister, that if a believing woman has
the financial and the physical ability to perform the Hajj, but is unable to
find a mehram to accompany her….she will not be held accountable for not
performing her obligation of Hajj in the Court of her Lord Most Merciful.
The majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of
the opinion that it is permissible for a believing woman to perform the Hajj
pilgrimage without a male mehram relative, provided she is accompanied by
trustworthy and pious believers in the group.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 5.10
Topic: Hajj of a Woman without a
mehram
Al-Hafiz says: "Among the Shafi'ite
scholars the most commonly accepted opinion in this regard is that a woman may travel
with her husband, or one of her mahram relatives, or a group of trustworthy
women, or even one such (trusted) woman companion. According to one view,
reported by Al-Karabisi and recorded as sound in Al-Muhadhib, a woman may
travel by herself provided the way to Hajj is secure and safe. This applies to
both Hajj and 'Umrah.
It is reported in Subul as-Salaam: "A
group of scholars hold that an old woman may travel without being accompanied
by any mahram relative."
This permission for a woman to travel without
a mahram in the company of trusted companions or when the journey to Hajj is
safe is supported by what is reported by Bukhari from 'Adi ibn Hatem, who says:
"I was with the Prophet (saws) when a man came to him and complained of
poverty. Another man complained about highway robbery. Thereupon the Prophet
(saws) said: 'O 'Adi! Have you seen the city of
This opinion is also supported by the fact
that Umar gave permission to the wives of the Prophet (saws) to perform Hajj
while accompanied by 'Uthman and Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf. Uthman would announce
them to people telling them to avoid looking at them or coming close to their
camels.
If, however, a woman fails to abide by this
provision and performs Hajj alone - without being accompanied by any mahram -
her Hajj would still be valid.
The author of Subul as-Salaam says that Ibn
Taimiyyah said: "Hajj of a woman without a mahram is valid.’
In brief, those for whom Hajj is not
compulsory due to sickness, poverty, fear of highway robbery, or in the case of
a woman because no mahram is available to accompany her, if these people
nonetheless perform Hajj, it will be credited to their account.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister