Q. If a woman wants to offer the pilgrimage and she has no close relative to accompany her as a mahram, how should she choose such a companion? Is it appropriate that she chooses a distant relative and travel with a group of relatives?
Khaleelur Rehman
A. Islam requires that a woman should have a male companion when she travels anywhere for any purpose. This is one aspect of the care Islam takes of women. The purpose of having such a companion is to look after the woman in a strange place and on the way there. In line with the Islamic approach to propriety and morality, such a companion must be a husband or a relative the woman my not marry, such as a father, son, brother or nephew.
In the case where no such relative is available, the woman’s ability to offer the pilgrimage must be looked at carefully. She may have the funds to pay for her travel and expenses, but she does not have the means for such a travel. Hence, some scholars consider that a woman does not fulfill the question of ability in this case and, as such, she is exempt from the duty of pilgrimage. Having said that, however, I must add that other scholars, particularly the Shafie School of Fiqh, consider that “reliable companionship” is acceptable in place of a mahram. Such a companionship may be a group of men and women whom the woman can easily trust. If these, or some of them, are the woman’s relatives, then they are appropriate for the woman to travel with.