A Muslim woman who is keen on abiding by the teachings of Islam is nevertheless very assertive of her freedom. She claims that there is nothing in the Qur'an to suggest that women cannot travel alone. To her, freedom means that she can travel wherever and whenever she wishes. Please comment.
This lady is partly right. There is nothing in the Qur'an to suggest that women cannot travel alone. May I suggest, however, that it is also not mentioned in the Qur'an that we should pray five times each day. We are only commanded in the Qur'an to attend regularly to our prayers. The number of times we should pray every day, and how we should pray and the time range for each prayer and the number of rak'ahs included in each, and what part of our prayer is obligatory and what is voluntary are all matters that have no mention in the Qur'an. Nevertheless, every Muslim the world over and in all generations knows that we must pray five times each day, within a specific time range for each prayer, and our five prayers include 17 obligatory rak'ahs and some voluntary ones. Moreover, there is no disagreement among Muslims on the form our prayers should take or what should be included in it as a matter of duty. If anyone denies any part of these facts, he runs the risk of being considered a disbeliever, because he is denying something of Islam which is essentially known to all people. The same can be said about numerous aspects of the faith of Islam. Only a few regulations about pilgrimage are mentioned in the Qur'an, but there is little difference among scholars on what parts of pilgrimage are essential for the completion of this important duty.
What I am driving at is to emphasize that it is not necessary that something is specifically mentioned in the Qur'an for it to be obligatory to all Muslims. We have a general rule clearly stated in the Qur'an which tells us that we must obey the Prophet, whatever he commands us. Allah says "So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from whatever he forbids you. " (59 ; 7 ) This Qur'anic verse illustrates that the Prophet's orders have Allah's support. This is only right because, in whatever relates to the religion of Islam, the Prophet only conveys to us Allah's revelations.
In the Qur'an Allah tells us, referring to the Prophet : "This fellow man of yours has not gone astray, nor is he deluded, and neither does he speak out of his own desire : that (which he conveys to you) is but ( a divine ) inspiration with which he is being Inspired. " (53 ; 2-4 )
Therefore, what you should explain to this lady is that Islamic orders can be given by the Prophet, and all Muslims must abide by them. The Prophet has told all Muslim women not to travel alone, because Islam takes good care of women. When a woman finds herself in a foreign country, on her own, she may be vulnerable to a variety of risks. Having her husband or a male companion who is a close relative of her by side will ensure her safety and protection.
According to Islamic law, are women allowed to ride horses? If not, please explain why?
Horse riding is an activity encouraged by the Prophet. He has urged us to teach our children "good marksmanship, swimming and horse riding." His statement includes both sons and daughters. When a woman rides a horse, she must continue to observe Islamic standards of propriety. She may not wear clothes which are not acceptable from the Islamic point of view. The same applies to swimming. She may not wear a swimming costume which reveals her arms or legs in front of men. If she is wearing such a costume, she has to confine her swimming to an enclosed private swimming pool, where she is seen only by people who are allowed to see her in that condition.
Can a woman be the commander of an army or a group of Mujahedeen?
Islam does not require women to fight in a war or Jihad. The Prophet was asked whether women should take part in any Jihad campaign. He answered: "Women are required to share in a Jihad in which no fighting takes place, namely, pilgrimage and Umrah." This means that women are not required to take part in actual fighting in any war. They can, however, play a supporting role in any war which the Muslim community fights. At the time of the Prophet, women took such a part, bringing water to the fighters in battle and nursing those who were injured or wounded. In other words, they remain behind the fighting lines.
At the time of the battle of Moat, when the Muslim community in Madinah was besieged by enemies who launched a pincer attack on them, women did not take part in fighting. They remained in their quarter, keeping a watchful eye, and ready to lend a hand of support to the fighters. But that is all that they were required to do.
This is naturally in line with the division of roles and responsibilities between man and woman as envisaged by Islam. The man looks after the present generation. He is the breadwinner of the family and he toils to provide a good standard of living for himself and his dependents. The woman looks after the new generation ensuring that the future of society is built on sound basis. This she does through looking after the children and bringing them up in a proper manner. While it is true that either of the two can fulfill much of the responsibilities of the other when the need arises, this can be viewed as a wise and precautionary measure to be used only in an emergency situation. War, whatever may be its causes and objectives, has much to do with the present rather than the future. It is natural, therefore, that it should be a task for the man who is better equipped to look after the present generation and all its affairs. It does not take much thinking to realize that if women were to fight in a war alongside men and be killed in equal numbers the effects would be far more damaging to the very fabric of society than it actually is. There would be much fewer women to look after the young who constitute the future strength of the nation. It is, then, for the pressing need that the future of the nation is established on solid foundations that women are not required to fight in Islamic wars. In a situation of dire emergency, however, such as the one which is created by an invasion of a Muslim state by its enemies, women are allowed to take an active part in the fighting which ensures repelling the enemy.