989/1 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel the distance of one day and night unless she is accompanied by a Mahram (husband or non-marriageable male relative).” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) A Mahram is required for the travel of a woman, regardless whether she is young or old, accompanied by other women or traveling alone, and whether she is with a safe company or not, for the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) made it a general rule by saying: “It is not lawful for a woman.”
2) The requirement of having a Mahram is not meant to put restrictions on women. Rather, the Shariah honors them in this way and seeks to protect them from any harm.
3) In anything commonly referred to among people as travel, it is required for a woman to have a Mahram.
990/2 - Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that he heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “A man should never be alone with a woman unless there is a Mahram with her. And a woman may not travel except with a Mahram.” A man said to him: “O Messenger of Allah, my wife has set out for Hajj while I am enlisted for such-and-such battle?” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) replied: “Go and join your wife in Hajj.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) It is prohibited for a man to be in seclusion with an unrelated woman, given the resultant evils for both of them.
2) The requirement for a woman to be with a Mahram during travel is something due and necessary, to the extent that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) gave precedence to a man going with his wife for the obligatory Hajj over going for the obligation of Jihad in the way of Allah Almighty.
3) A sign of a person’s good understanding is his ability to prioritize rights when there is a conflict between some of them.