💐 In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
💌 Even if a woman considers herself "independent", adventurous and confident enough to travel to another city or country without anybody accompanying her throughout the journey, she is still obligated to have at least one male mahram to escort her, in obedience to Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam when he advised the believing women against traveling long journeys on their own. A mahram is someone who is closely related that marriage with them is haraam/forbidden, and they're the ones who are allowed to accompany us during our travels.
🔹From a woman's mahrams, with whom she is permitted to shake hands and show her hair and face:
Her father, brothers, uncles (brothers of her father or mother, not their parents' male cousins), nephews, sons, grandsons, half-brothers and foster brothers (who were breastfed from the same nursing woman), and her husband since they are already married.
🔹 Some of the males who are not considered as mahrams for a woman, and they are marriageable:
A woman's male cousin whether paternal cousin or maternal cousin (first, second or third degree etc. cousins are not your mahrams), male cousins of her parents, brothers in law (husbands of one's sisters), brothers of one's husband, and step-brothers.
🔹 Around non-mahram males, you as a Muslimah should:
1) Dress modestly for Allah's sake and maintain the proper hijab.
2) Refrain from being extremely friendly and touchy-feely. Don't poke them, shove them jokingly, hug or sit beside each other even if you claim there's no romantic feelings between you. No such thing as "I see him as a brother" when it comes to dealing with guys who are non-mahram.
3) Avoid unnecessary casual talks and being secluded together in the same room, car or elevator as our enemy shaytan can easily mess around with some of his conniving tricks.
📖 Jabir ibn Abdullah RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, “Whoever has faith/Imaan in Allah and the Last Day, let him not be alone with an unrelated woman (non-mahram female) without her guardian (mahram). Verily, the third of them is shaytan.”
Source: Musnad Ahmed 14241
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Al-Albani
📖 Abu Huraira RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, “It is not lawful for a woman who has faith/Imaan in Allah and the Last Day to travel for a day and a night without her guardian (mahram).”
Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari 1038, Sahih Muslim 1339
Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (Authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim
https://www.abukhadeejah.com/mind-map-illustration-showing-the-mahrams-male-chaperones-of-a-woman-for-travel-and-sittings/
https://www.abukhadeejah.com/the-distance-a-woman-can-travel-without-a-mahram-by-shaikh-ibn-baz/