A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Sleepovers/females traveling alone/etc |
|---|
| Caraj |
| 09/19/05 at 16:55:39 |
| After reading posts on sleep overs and posts about women traveling alone, etc I have to admit Allah knows best. Just makes me wonder what is Quran and what is hadith and what is interpretation. Take an American Muslim revert. One who works, goes to school, travels on business, etc. I have a business and travel by myself all the time. I have family in other states and I drive days to visit. I don't wear hijab but dress modestly. (Or what is modest by US standards which may not be saying much) How much is Allah and how much is cultural? I mean if I were to abide by all I read I would have to quit visiting, quit doing buisness, hold up in the house and would be broke and evicted in short order, never seeing family and friends. Can some of you here give me some insight? ADDED later: I personally know American revert sisters who are 1) either can't make their rent as they cannot find jobs wearing hijabs and 2) Women married to Muslim men who have more than one wife and cannot properly support both so the American revert sister is doing without or in shabby living places. Due to depending upon men for their support. Whats wrong with this picture? |
| 09/19/05 at 16:58:42 |
| Caraj |
| Re: Sleepovers/females traveling alone/etc |
|---|
| modesty |
| 09/19/05 at 17:28:34 |
| [slm] The following fatwa: [url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503548044]A Woman Traveling for Conferences without a Mahram[/url] from islamonline may be able to address some of your concerns. I find that its not a good idea just to take a hadeeth in isolation to understand the guidelines on a certain topic. If you can, try to consulting a scholar that you trust who has a more broader range of knowledge on these topics. Take Care sis :-) [wlm] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question of Fatwa As-Salamu `alaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu. My wife, who is a university lecturer (and a new Muslim), occasionally needs to travel abroad for conferences related to her area of research (i.e., the perception of Islam in the West). Given that I am unable to travel with her for personal reasons (work, financial, children) and that we live in a non-Muslim country, the only options available to us are that she travels on her own or with her female colleagues. Is the latter acceptable in Islam? If it is not, can you please explain whether or not the prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) hadith that, “There will come a time when a woman will ride her camel to Iraq from Madinah on her own in total security” is of value here? It seems to me that the prohibition of women traveling without mahrams is related to safety, according to this hadith. Your advice will be much appreciated and may Allah reward you. Name of Mufti: Ahmad Kutty Content of Reply: Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your interest about Islam and its teachings. We do really appreciate your question which shows how far you are interested about adherence to the dictates of Shari`ah. May Allah save us all from the traps of Satan and enlighten our hearts with the light of Islam! Regarding your question, it should be clear that Islam cares for the dignity and honor of the woman. Because of her weakness and vulnerability to being targeted by vile men, Islam is keen to close the doors to such situations by insisting that a woman should not travel long distances or stay away from home by herself unless she has taken adequate measures to ensure her protection. In response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: "Islamic laws are always based on tangible purposes, benefits and wisdom for humankind. Therefore, the interdict against a woman traveling by herself is intended to ensure her honor and dignity; it is not in any way intended to restrict her freedom of movement or prevent her from attaining her full potential. It is in this spirit that many scholars and jurists, even in the early `ays, understood the interdict of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning a woman traveling. That is why they said that she can travel in the company of women or any safe company. The Prophet's hadith quoted above can definitely be taken to indicate that the safety of the woman is the major issue; so there is nothing preventing women from traveling if the way is considered to be safe and if there is no fear of molestation. Today's planes and public transportation provide sufficient protection. They are far safer than traveling in the desert. Even in the latter cases, pious Muslim women did not hesitate to travel with a group that would ensure her safety. So I do not see any reason why your wife should hesitate to travel, provided she has taken all necessary precautions, and that she places her trust in Allah after having done her best, so as to provide the essential service that she offers the community.” You can also read: [url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544964]Woman Traveling to Hajj Without Mahram[/url] [url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503546726]Women Traveling without Mahram[/url] If you are still in need of more information, don't hesitate to contact us. Do keep in touch. May Allah guide us all to the straight path! Allah Almighty knows best. |
| Re: Sleepovers/females traveling alone/etc |
|---|
| bhaloo |
| 09/19/05 at 18:53:36 |
| [slm] Good post Modesty, alhumdullilah. There's some good links on there that explain things in the proper perspective. |
| Re: Sleepovers/females traveling alone/etc |
|---|
| jannah |
| 09/21/05 at 12:46:58 |
| Azizah, a lot of times we read these fatwas and are just like :o This is why I am so anti cut/paste fatwas and these fatwa bank sites. Yes they serve a need, but they are not doing a service to the need. Basically they should be renamed ammunition banks, people who have an opinion about something go to various sites until they find a fatwa that they think goes with their view of things. Many times I have found myself wanting to go to these sites to find something to post (what i know to be a different legitimate view) from the fatwa that has been posted. And then I have to stop myself because there's just no point of engaging in these fatwa wars. People need to learn Islam in a wholistic way. To learn about Islam as a set of do's and don'ts is doing an injustice ot islam. Also note that these fatwa sites have one opinion, the scholar on the website's opinion. Most do not provide ALL the opinions and their rationales. They do not go into various conditions and exceptions and circumstances. This is not the job of a fatwa, a fatwa is supposed to to be what they believe to be the strongest opinion for a specific time/question/circumstance, not a treatise on a subject that people can use to live by. So in conclusion, it is extremely important for all of us to be educated on the islamic sciences, because we do not even know how to evaluate a fatwa and what it actually means and it's implications. Secondly, we have to go back to our communities and scholars to find our answers instead of the internet. The internet should not be a place where people learn Islam. I say this being the webmaster of jannah.org. The internet should be a place of resources and networking helping Muslims and their causes, but again it's only a resource and something that is helpful. It shouldn't be what we depend on for our answers. |
| Re: Sleepovers/females traveling alone/etc |
|---|
| Siham |
| 09/24/05 at 16:38:38 |
| [slm] First of all I would like to say that there's always room for different of opinions, and its basically a mercy (rahma) for the Ummah -- and thus as long as the different of opinion is between two qualified scholars. its kheir!...the main idea is not to argue over it in sha Allah. For instance, we can have different of opinions as long as we know that its also a valid opinion from our great Ulama, that have unbroken chain of transmission of knowledge till all the way from the Prophet Muhammad [saw] So, this can only take place when we sincerely have conviction that both of the opinions are "RIGHT" which is extremely importantly -- otherwise we would not be able to tolerate each other differences etc., Lastly, I’ve noticed that some people have no passion for their religion, and therefore don't have any spiritual concern for the other person's situation and thus do Da'wah outward, which is completely inaccurate -- because that actually causes people to turn away from the way of Allah and thus the true submission (Islam), instead of conveying the true message of Islam properly, they tend to make huge fuss about it all. May Allah SWT protect us from this in sha Allah. [wlm] |
| 09/24/05 at 17:19:38 |
| Siham |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |