I do get some really interesting questions and I decided to answer two of them about women traveling and does Islam actually permits travel.
While I am not a scholar for sure I will try to give some explanation on the above and hopefully, you will find it educational.
Are Muslims allowed to travel?
Muslims are encouraged to travel and appreciate the creation of God. The Prophet peace be upon him actually encouraged people to seek knowledge as far as China, to broaden their horizons and experiences. He knew how important this is and how it can impact society. Traveling around the world does encourage you to see things not only from your perspective but from the perspective of others and I believe you become more understanding and accepting this way.
My favorite part of the Quran about travel is this verse..”… and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. “-(Quran 49:13).
This on its own can sum up the importance of traveling and appreciating beauty. We are not born alone and we are not meant to be spending our lives cocooned in one place. Back then people travelled for months and months to seek knowledge, to experience different cultures and to spread the religion. Today we are really blessed that in less than 15hours we can fly from one side of the world to the other skipping pretty much all the dangerous places.
Muslims can travel as long as they don’t forget their obligations some of which I mentioned in the article here about why Muslim traveller are different.
Can women travel?
Now I am not a scholar but women do need their mahram (protector) this is their father, husband, brother, son, or uncle, in order to travel. I know this can be really hard for some people to understand but back then there were so many dangers you didn’t want to let a woman travel alone through the desert. I definitely wouldn’t want this to happen to my daughter. Even today it can be quite dangerous for women in some places and it is good for them to feel secure and protected. That doesn’t mean that they can’t handle themselves of course. I have lived and traveled alone and no matter how independent and confident I am I did feel that a presence of a mahram would have made my life easier.
In today’s world, things are a little different, it doesn’t take you 3 months to cross from one country to another on a camel and many Muslim women do travel alone. You don’t encounter the same dangers, though many Muslim women still will prefer to only travel with their mahrams. This comes down to personal choice, need, and strict following on the religion. I personally do travel alone when there is a need or when I visit my family, but I find it more fun to travel with my husband or friends. Just makes the whole trip more enjoyable.
If you have any more questions please comment below and I will try and answer them or find a qualified person to do so. 🙂