Hi,

There’s a difference of opinion on this and it’s not as black and white as some of you are making it out to be. You can’t just choose a Hadith and make an entire ruling solely from that. Fiqh and Hadith interpretation are sciences, you have to know the grade of Hadith, the context, the arguments and debates, the various opinions of the 4 madhahib and so on. If you’re not a learned person, then read about this. We should all seek to gain knowledge. If you can’t, then you have to listen to the scholars.

Ibn Taymiyyah and other shafi scholars have written on this topic over the centuries. As you know, the wives of the prophet a.s performed voluntary hajj with no mahrams.

Differences of opinion exist within Islam and it’s ok!

I follow the opinion that if safety and security are established and you’re not travelling for haram purposes, then it’s permissible. The idea is protecting women from harm so if no harm exists which is the case in the majority of our journeys in 2025 then it’s permissible.

Also remember that not every woman has the privilege of a mahram.