Wednesday 2 Rajab 1446 - 1 January 2025
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Can a Woman Act As a Mahram?

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Publication : 16-12-1999

Views : 15296

Question

Can a woman be considered a Mahram for a woman she is not related to for purposes of traveling or sitting with others?

Summary of answer

In Islam, a woman cannot serve as a Mahram. Only men, through specific blood, marriage, or breastfeeding ties, qualify as Mahram to uphold Islamic principles of modesty and privacy.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

A woman cannot be a Mahram for another. The one who is considered Mahram is a man that a woman cannot marry due to blood relations, such as her father and her brother, or a man related to her due to marriage, such as her husband, her father-in-law and her step-son, or a man related due to breast feeding, such as her father from breastfeeding and so forth.

It is not allowed for a man to be in private with a woman he is not related to nor can he travel with her. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A woman does not travel except with a Mahram.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, “A man is never alone with a woman except that Satan is the third.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad and others from the Hadith of `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) with an authentic chain of narration)

To learn more, review these responses:

Who Is a Woman’s Mahram?

Is the Father In-law a Mahram?

Is the father of one’s ex-husband a Mahram?

Is the wife’s sister considered to be a Mahram?

Is My Husband’s Stepfather My Mahram?

Is Brother-in-Law Mahram?

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Shaikh ibn Baz