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Islamic Questions & Answers

Iam the only child to my parents. Iam married and have only two daughters.My husband and I live in the USA, and all our families and relatives live in a country in the middile east. Thus the only Mahraam I have is my husband who cannot travel out of the USA for reasons that I cannot mension in this email. I really whant to go to Hajj inshaa-Allah since I have all the means to do so. Is it Halal for me to go to Hajj with an organized group for pilgrims. And if not, how will I ever be able to fullfil this important pillar of Islam when I don't have any Mahrams?!

Praise be to Allaah.

A woman does not have to go for Hajj unless she is able, and having a Mahram who can accompany her is one of the prerequisites for her to be able to go to Hajj. If it is not easy for her to find a Mahram to go for Hajj with her, then she is not able according to Sharee'ah, because in Islam a woman is forbidden to travel without a Mahram. Therefore Hajj is not obligatory for you unless you find a Mahram. So have patience until Allaah makes it easy for you to have a Mahram with whom you can go for Hajj. You have a valid excuse and there is no sin on you for this. As for going with a group without a Mahram, this is not permissible because of the hadeeth narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘No woman should travel except with a Mahram, and no man should enter upon a woman unless her Mahram is with her.' A man said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I want to go out with such-and-such an army and my wife wants to go to Hajj.' He said, ‘Go to Hajj with her.'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1729). The pilgrims used to go out from Madeenah in one caravan like a group but still the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not allow women to travel without a Mahram.

And Allaah knows best.

Hajj without husband's permission

There is a married woman whose husband promised to take her to Hajj, but he did not keep his promise. Her family came to her on their way to Makkah and took her with them without the husband's knowledge or approval. Is her Hajj valid?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "Before replying, I would like to point out that it is not permissible for a woman to go out without her husband's permission, even if that is in the same city, so how can she go for Hajj without his permission? This is haraam and it is not permissible for her to do this. The husband who promised to take his wife for Hajj has to fulfil his promise and take her for Hajj, especially since this promise is stated as a condition in the marriage contract. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The most deserving of conditions to be fulfilled are those by means of which intimate relations become permissible for you." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2729; Muslim, 1418.

If this promise was made after the marriage contract, the scholars differed as to whether it should be fulfilled. The correct view is that it must be fulfilled so long as that will not cause harm to the one who made the promise, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described breaking promises as one of the attributes of the hypocrites, as a warning against breaking promises.

See Daleel al-Akhta' allati yaqa' fiha al-Haaj wa'l-Mu'tamir.

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