Question Summary:
Can a woman travel the Shari῾ safar with her mahram on a totally different vehicle (car or aeroplane)?

Question Detail:

Can a woman travel the Shari῾ safar with her mahram on a totally different vehicle (car or aeroplane)?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is prohibited for a woman to travel 78 km or more without a mahram (a person that one cannot marry[1]). Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said:
 
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: لاَ تُسَافِرِ المَرْأَةُ ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا مَعَ ذِي مَحْرَمٍ[2]
 
Translation: Ibn Umar radhiallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wasallam said: “No woman should travel the distance of three days without a mahram.”
 
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لاَ تُسَافِرِ المَرْأَةُ إِلَّا مَعَ ذِي مَحْرَمٍ، وَلاَ يَدْخُلُ عَلَيْهَا رَجُلٌ إِلَّا وَمَعَهَا مَحْرَمٌ» ، فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَخْرُجَ فِي جَيْشِ كَذَا وَكَذَا، وَامْرَأَتِي تُرِيدُ الحَجَّ، فَقَالَ: اخْرُجْ مَعَهَا[3]
 
Ibn Abbas radhiallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah s.a.w said: “No woman should travel without a mahram and no man enter upon a woman unless she has a mahram with her.” So a man asked: “Oh Prophet of Allah! I wish to leave with so and so army whilst my wife wishes to perform Hajj.” The Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam replied: “Go with her.” 
 
If a female travels with her mahram by road, albeit in a separate car, it will be permissible on the condition that the cars remain within a close proximity of each other during the entire course of the journey.[4] [5] [6] [7]
 
The same, however, cannot be said for an aeroplane. This is because there are too many variables and possibilities on a plane and because it is virtually impossible for two planes to remain within close proximity with each other like two cars. One of the main reasons Sharia demands that a woman travel with a mahram is to protect her chastity. There have been and remain many cases of immoral advancements in air infamously titled the ‘mile high club’. It is very easy for a moral woman to become victim of such immoral people.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
 
Mawlana Saanwal ibn Muhammad,
UK
Student Darul Iftaa
 
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net