Question:
What is the ruling of riding a taxi or Uber service whilst being alone with a driver of the opposite gender?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Basically, there is a prohibition upon the Muslim ummah against being alone with their non-Mahram. This is in accordance with a narration from Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas R.Anhuma where the Prophet PBUH said:
لاَ يَخْلُوَنَّ رَجُلٌ بِامْرَأَةٍ إِلاَّ وَمَعَهَا ذُو مَحْرَمٍ
“No person (man) should be alone with a woman except when there is a Mahram with her,”
Sahih Muslim (1341)
Based on the above text, it is clearly stated that the action of being alone between a man and a non-Mahram woman is something prohibited. This is because the word لاَ in the hadith is a لاَ al-Naahiyah (prohibition) which implies the ruling of haram.
Imam al-Nawawi Rahimahullah said when commenting on the hadith: This hadith means: A man should not be alone with a woman unless with the presence of her Mahram. And if an ajnabi man is alone with an ajnabi woman without the presence of a third person, then it is haram by the agreement of the scholars. The same is (its ruling) with the presence of the third person who the woman does not feel shy even with his presence due to him being too young like a boy aged two or three years old and the like. The presence of the child is the same as if there is no one there. Refer Syarah Sahih Muslim, Al-Nawawi (9/109).
The wisdom of this prohibition is so that actions which lead to adultery or the muqaddimah (start of) adultery may be avoided. This is because being alone itself is a big void that can be filled by shaytan in the effort of destroying the child of Adam as well as causing fitnah as stated in a narration from Sayyidina Abdullah bin Umar R.Anhuma where the Prophet PBUH said:
أَلاَ لاَ يَخْلُوَنَّ رَجُلٌ بِامْرَأَةٍ إِلاَّ كَانَ ثَالِثَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ
Behold! A man is not alone with a woman but the third of them is Ash-Shaitan
Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (2165)
Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Mubarakfuri Rahimahullah when commenting on this hadith said: This hadith means: Shaytan is with both of them (a man and woman who are together) as well as whispering syahwat to them until it drives them both towards adultery. Refer Tuhfah Al-Ahwazi, Al-Mubarakfuri (6/320).
Based on several evidences that we share above, we can understand that when a man and a non-Mahram a woman is alone together then this is an act that is haram and prohibited. This is the same whether it happens in a garden, lake garden, in a room or hotel, and also in a vehicle like a taxi, Uber or GrabCar.
In this issue, we find that the jurists also state some conditions where it is permissible for a man to be alone with an ajnabi woman. Among them is what is stated by Imam al-Nawawi Rahimahullah. And it is the exception to this issue (being alone with the non-mahram) all places that may cause harm. Like when a man finds a woman who is lost on the road or the like, then it is permissible for him to accompany the woman, in fact, it is a commandment for him to do so if he is worried for her safety when being left alone.
Imam al-Nawawi stressed out the above opinion using the hadith from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha R.Anha as the evidence as narrated by Imam Muslim (2770) when Safwan bin al-Mu’atthal al-Sulami accompanied Sayyidatina Aisha R.Anha to return to Medina.
The same is what we cite from the opinion of al-Qadhi Abi Ya’la al-Farra’ Rahimahullah when commenting on the related issue on a Muhtasib which is the one who does the hisbah. He said: When a muhtasib saw a man and woman walk on a road and there are no clear any signs which may cause confusion, then it is not needed for him to rebuke and repulse both of them harshly. Refer Al-Ahkam Al-Sulthaniyah, Abu Ya’la (pg. 293).
Being Alone with A Driver of Different Gender
Pertaining to this issue, we suggest the driver or the customer should try their best to avoid this khalwat situation like what usually happens in a vehicle like a taxi, Uber or GrabCar. For example, for Uber or GrabCar users, when he clicks on the request button or book their service, later the details related to the driver in terms of gender, vehicle registration number, as well as types of car, will appear. So, the following are some dhawabit (criteria) that we share on this issue:
- The user of this service may click on the cancel request button if he finds that the driver is from the opposite gender.
- While for the driver, refusing the request from the customer whether it is a man or woman multiple times may cause their account to be suspended by the company’s authority. This will burden the driver in terms of their livelihood.
- Then, we are of the opinion that it is not a problem in this case for the driver to be alone with his customer of the opposite gender in a vehicle.
- It is on the condition that the passenger sits at the backseat, does not communicate unless when it is necessary.
- The driver should choose a road which is not isolated to avoid any fitnah.
Conclusion
After we analyse this issue through various dimensions, we found that the ruling for a driver and passenger of the opposite gender to be alone in the same vehicle is not a problem as long as it follows the dhawabit (guidelines) that we have previously stated. May Allah SWT give us all clear understanding in religion. Ameen.