The Ruling on a Woman Staying in a Foreign Country Without a Mahram

Question :

My question is about a woman working and living without a Mahram in a country other than her own, bearing in mind that I work presently in the Kingdom and in my place of work, they are all women and I live in an internal section belonging to the place of work and they are all women there as well, all praise and thanks be to Allah. There is no mixing of the sexes or anything that would cause Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful to be Angry - neither in the workplace, nor in the accommodation. I have tried to bring my brother as a legal Mahram for me, but I have not been. successful. So what is the ruling in Islamic Law for my present position, and my residence here without a Mahram, bearing in mind that I first of all sought guidance from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful much before coming here, and I felt that Allah made many matters easy for me. Secondly, the situation in my country, with regard to mixing of the sexes and immorality in the workplace, do not encourage an observant Muslim person to continue therein in the light of what I have mentioned, what is your opinion?

Answer:

We ask Allah to grant us and you success and to improve our circumstances. As for what you have done, there is no objection to it, because there is no harm and no sin in a woman living in a country without a Mahram, especially if there is no danger in it. Since the work is among women and protected from men which is something that Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful has permitted or in an internal section, living among women; there is no sin in any of this.

However, it is prohibited for you to travel alone, so do not travel except with a Mahram and do not come (to the country) without a Mahram. If you have come from your country without a Mahram, you must turn to Allah in repentance and seek forgiveness and you must not repeat it. If you wish to travel, you must have a Mahram, therefore, be patient until a Mahram comes, in accordance with the words of the Prophet:
"A woman may not travel except with a Mahram."

If it is easy to find a Mahram among the family or by marrying, then your husband will be a Mahram for you when travelling. So. the matter is in Allah's Hand. You must do what you are able to do when travelling, until such time as a Mahram is available. As for living among women and working in a permissible job, there is no sin in it, all praise and thanks be to Allah..

There is no doubt that a woman travelling without a Mahram is a grave matter, in which there is danger, trial, and temptation (Fitnah). Therefore, we advise our sisters in Islam to beware of it, and to not travel without a Mahram. We also advise them to beware of mixing with men, working with men and being alone with men. It is necessary to beware of all of these things, whether it be in hospitals or anywhere else.

My advice to all is not to bring a woman except with a Mahram. Such woman should not travel except with a Mahram, nor should she work with men, nor be alone with any man except her Mahram, because it is a path to temptation and trial (Fitnah) and the Messenger prohibited that, and he forbade it, saying:
"A man does not sit alone with a woman, except that Satan makes a third".

What is meant by this, is that it is incumbent upon a woman and her guardians to take care to preserve her honor and to avoid the causes of temptation and trial (Fitnah).

As for working, there is no objection to a woman working in a permissible job, which does not harm her religion and does not cause trial and temptation (Fitnah) with men.