Bismillah.
This is the last Hadith from Kitaab-ut-Tahajjud [Book of Night Prayer].
Narrated Qaza'a Maula (freed slave of Ziyad):
I heard Abu Saeed Al-Khudri narrating four things from the Prophet and I appreciated them very much. He said, conveying the words of the Prophet:
(1) "A woman should not go on a two-day journey except with her husband or a Dhi-Mahram.
(2) No fasting is permissible on two days: 'Id-ul-Fitr and 'Id-ul-Adha.
(3) No prayer after two prayers, i.e. after the Fajr prayer till the sunrises and after the 'Asr prayer till the sun sets.
(4) Do not prepare yourself for a journey except to three Mosques, i.e. Al-Masjid-Al-Haram, the Mosque of Aqsa (Jerusalem) and my Mosque."
1. Travelling of a Woman:
The saheeh Sunnah indicates that it is not permissible for a woman to travel except with a mahram. This travelling is not defined by a specific distance, as is the case with shortening the prayers or breaking the fast, rather everything that is called travelling, whether it is long or short, is not permitted for a woman unless she has a mahram with her.
Al-Bukhaari (1729) and Muslim (2391) narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman should travel except with a mahram.”
The fuqaha’ are unanimously agreed that it is haraam for a woman to travel without a mahram, except in a few exceptional cases, such as travelling for the obligatory Hajj, for which some of them have permitted a women to travel with trustworthy companions. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: al-Baghawi said: They did not differ concerning the fact that a woman may not travel for anything but the obligatory Hajj except with a husband or mahram, except a kaafir woman who becomes Muslim in daar al-harb or a female captive who escapes. Others added: or a woman who becomes separated from her group and is found by a trustworthy man, in which case it is permissible for him to accompany her until he brings her back to her group. End quote from Fath al-Baari (4/76).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Sharh Saheeh Muslim, explaining that travel in this case is not defined by a specific distance:
Everything that is called travelling, it is forbidden for a woman to do without her husband or a mahram, whether it is three days, two days or one day, or anything else, because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas, according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman should travel without a mahram.” This includes everything that is called travel. And Allaah knows best.
End quote.
And it says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (17/339): It is haraam for a woman to travel without a mahram in all cases, whether the journey is long or short. End quote.
Based on this, if going from your city to this place is regarded as travelling according to the people’s customs, then it is not permissible for you to go there without a mahram. If it is not regarded as travelling according to custom then there is nothing wrong with you going there without a mahram.
The fact that the route is filled with cities, schools and farms does not alter this ruling.
[Taken from IslamQA]
- We hear and we obey. :)
2. Fasting on Eid
Yes, it's prohibited. Check out this link to find out more about the categories of fasts: obligatory, encouraged, disliked, forbidden and permissible.
3. Forbidden to Pray
he definition of times when voluntary prayer is forbidden varies from one country to another, and from one season to another. Hence we cannot explain what these times are by the clock for all lands and in all seasons. But we will explain the general principles which will make it easy for every Muslim to work out when these times are. Hence we say that the times when prayer is forbidden are three:
- From when dawn breaks until approximately a quarter of an hour after the sun has risen. You can find out the time of sunrise from the timetables that are available in all countries.
- Approximately a quarter of an hour before the time for Zuhr prayer begins, until the time for Zuhr begins.
- After you have prayed ‘Asr – even if it is an hour after the time for it began – until the disk of the sun has set completely. So the beginning of the time when prayer is forbidden is when one has prayed ‘Asr, not the beginning of the time for ‘Asr prayer, because the Muslim may offer ‘Asr prayer some time after the time for it begins. In that case the Muslim may offer voluntary prayers so long as he has not yet prayed ‘Asr, even if the time for ‘Asr has begun. Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (1/429): We do not know of any difference of opinion concerning that among those who say that prayer is not allowed after ‘Asr. End quote.
The evidence for these times is mentioned in several ahaadeeth, among the clearest and most comprehensive of which is the lengthy hadeeth which was narrated by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh (832) from ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Pray Fajr, then refrain from praying until the sun has risen and become high, for when it rises, it rises between the horns of the Shaytaan and at that time the kuffaar prostrate to it. Then pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended until the shadow of a spear falls directly north (i.e., noon). Then refrain from praying, for at that time Hell is stoked up. Then when the shadow moves forward, pray, for the prayer is witnessed and attended, until you have prayed ‘Asr. Then refrain from praying until the sun has set, for it sets between the horns of the Shaytaan and at that time the kuffaar prostrate to it.”
We should point out that what is forbidden is prayer that is purely voluntary at these times. As for prayers for which there is a reason, such as “greeting the mosque” (tahiyyat al-masjid) or the two rak’ahs after wudoo’ or the two rak'ahs after tawaaf and so on, they may be offered at any time according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
[Taken from IslamQA]
4. The 3 Special Mosques
Read this post.
Wassalam.
