and every man can demean her. She is a source of temptation for men, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “The trial of the Children of Israel lay in women,” and he also said: “I have not left behind me any temptation more harmful to men than women.” For that reason a woman is prohibited from traveling without a mahram.

Scholars have differed over whether this ban includes short journeys. Some hold that she is barred even from brief trips, while others restrict the ruling to long-distance travel. The correct view is that she is prevented from anything people customarily call “travel.” Whenever a journey is labeled travel, it is unlawful for a woman to undertake it unless accompanied by a mahram, so as to protect her from temptation, evil, and tribulation.

The compiler then mentioned the hadiths of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them—which show that it is forbidden for a woman to travel without a mahram. The plain wording of the hadith draws no distinction between a young woman and an elderly one, a beautiful woman and a plain one, a woman traveling with other women and one traveling alone, or a journey perceived as safe and one that is not. The hadith is all-encompassing. Even if absolute safety could be guaranteed on a particular trip, such certainty does not exist for every journey, and therefore the ruling stands.