Does a woman need to always travel with a Mahram?

Question

Does a woman need to go out with a Mahram all the time? I understand traveling to other cities or countries with a Mahram but sometimes going out with a Mahram is just not possible. For example all her kids are at school and she wants to pick them up but all the men are at work. Or she has to visit her parents but a Mahram is not available.

Answer 1

Asalaam Alaikum

a woman is allowed to go out in islam.(please keep in mind that we are not talking about travelling). among the kinds of going out that are prescribed are her going to visit her family, mahrams and going out to ask religious questions from people of knowledge. also women are allowed to go out for their own needs, provided they are fully abiding by the shari'ah. she should observe complete hijab, refrain from using perfume or any kind of adornment that could pave way for any vice. finally she should be assured safety when moving about the city or locality, if there is any possibility of imminent fitnah then it is not permissible for her to go out.

the following is the evidence taken from the sunnah,

1. Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: If the wife of any one of you asks for permission to go to the mosque, do not stop her.(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 827; Muslim, 442)
2. Zaynab, the wife of Abd-Allaah, said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us: If any one of you (women) comes to the mosque, let her not wear perfume. (Narrated by Muslim, 443)
3. Jaabir ibn Abd-Allaah said: my maternal aunt got divorced and wanted to go and pick some fruit from her trees. A man told her off for going out, so she went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he said, Never mind, go and pick the fruit from your trees. Maybe you will be able to give it in charity or do something good with it. (Narrated by Muslim, 1483)

[refference : Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid]

for more clarity on this, i would like to quote from the book 'The status of Women in Islam' by sheikh saalih al fawzan. in the chapter about 'the woman working outside her home',

If the woman is in need of working outside of the home, then she is to work; however, she does so in a manner which contains for her the preservation her noblity and the safeguarding of her.

thus it is agreed upon that women can go out for necessity as long as the limits of islamic shari'ah are not crossed. i have tried to keep the answer as direct as possible, assuming the questioner is aware of the boundaries in islam.

during the research for an answer for this question, i did come across a post in islam.stackexchange. i believe it is worthy to take a look at it too as it has the question in almost the same concept. ill post the link below. (its a very old post of over 5 years and last active almost 3 years ago ).

Why are women not allowed to go out alone even in today's society?

may Allah grant you mercy and guide you to the straight path.

Allah knows best.