Excerpted from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the Fatāwā of the Scholars of the Ḥaramayn, translated by Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbdullah Salīm
❖ Question:
Is it considered unlawful khalwah (seclusion) in Sharīʿah for a woman to ride in a rented taxi with a non-maḥram (stranger) driver? Also, is the ruling the same when two women ride with a non-maḥram driver as when one woman does so alone?
❖ Answer:
When a woman rides alone with a stranger driver, it is not only a case of khalwah (unlawful seclusion) but also leads to certain prohibited actions that often occur in such a state of isolation. The situation in which this woman is riding with the driver—without the presence of a third person—constitutes not just seclusion, but a seclusion that is a source of potential fitnah (temptation).
Such a scenario is far more dangerous than one where another woman or man is also present in the vehicle, as the presence of a third party significantly reduces the likelihood of fitnah. Therefore, this kind of seclusion is not merely unlawful, but one that provokes trials and corruption.
– Fatwā by Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Bāz رحمه الله
