—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “It is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to undertake a journey of three days or more unless her father, her son, her husband, her brother, or another mahram (a close male relative whom she may never marry) is with her.” (1)

Ibn ʿAbbās — may Allah be pleased with them both — also related that the Prophet ﷺ said: “No man should ever be alone with a woman unless she is accompanied by a mahram, and a woman must not travel except in the company of a mahram.” (2)

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar — may Allah have mercy on him — remarked: “If the unqualified term ‘day’ or the unqualified term ‘night’ is taken to mean a complete unit—that is, a day together with its night, or a night together with its day—the points of disagreement become fewer, and the reports that speak of three (days) are subsumed under this understanding, making the minimum travel distance a day and a night.” (3)

It has been authentically reported from Ibn ʿAbbās — may Allah be pleased with them both — that he said: “Do not shorten the prayer when traveling to ʿArafah and Batn Nakhla, but shorten it when traveling to ʿUsfān.” (4)