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Woman going to more places than she took permission to go to from husband/guardian

Question

Shaykh, if a woman takes permission from her guardian (father/husband) to go to her female friend's house, and her guardian gives permission, and so she went there, but she also goes to the market/other place to buy things/other halal purpose, so if she seeks permission to go to one place but also goes to other places besides the main places to fulfill halal purposes, is that a problem? She observes the hijab. Can you clarify what the ruling is in the light of the Quran, Hadith, and scholarly consensus in this situation?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The basic principle is that it is not permissible for a woman to leave her husband's home except with his permission, as confirmed in the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). In this regard, please refer to fatwa 99860.

We did not find any statements of the scholars regarding the case you asked about. In principle, she is not permitted to exceed the limits of her husband’s permission. The fact that she wears the hijaab is not a sound reason for her going out without his permission. This is with regards to her husband.

As for others, such as her father, for example, then it appears – Allah knows best – that it is permissible for her to go out without his permission, because some scholars have permitted an adult girl with a sound mind to leave the house of her guardian without his permission if there is no suspicion or accusation of corruption. Moreover, they permitted for her to choose between staying with her father or staying by herself with the above condition.

Allah knows best.

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