Title: Women Living Out of Station Without Guardians Question: I am a medical student studying in the Caribbean. There are quite a few Muslims here. There are a few sisters studying here by themselves. This is not a Muslim country and a lot of haraam goes on here just like in a lot of other western countries and even some Muslim countries. Now a lot of these sisters are being told that it is haraam for them to be here without a Mehram [1] (or a protector). What is your opinion on this? Is it Haraam for them to be here alone? Please state your evidence if you can. If it is wrong for them to live here, what advice do you have for them? Their families spend a lot of money in their education and are waiting for them to return as doctors!! Answer: There are a few differences in the narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the referred issue. According to some narratives, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that a woman should not undertake a journey of over three nights alone, without the company of a mehram relation. While other narratives simply state that a woman should not take up any journey without the company of a mehram relation. With a close look at these narratives, in the perspective of the social directives of the Qur'an and those ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), it actually seems that the referred issue is actually not a part of the Shari`ah but an advice to Muslim women to be very careful in all such matters that may, in any way, effect their reputation. In my opinion, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have directed women to avoid traveling alone so that no one gets an opportunity to spread a negative word about them and thereby defame chaste women. It should also be noted that these narratives actually relate to taking up long journeys, not to staying away from one's home. Undertaking journeys, especially in the times of the Prophet (pbuh) was not an easy task. It had its inherent dangers and hazards. It seems that the Prophet (pbuh) actually advised Muslim women to avoid taking up these inherent dangers of a long journey alone. It may, sometimes become indispensable for a woman to travel alone. In such a situation a woman should try to make arrangements of traveling in a group of other women and if she has to stay away from her home, to stay with a group of women. It is also advisable for Muslim countries to try and form female student groups etc. while sending their female students abroad, so that the individual ladies are saved from the trouble of finding a reliable company for themselves. It should also remain clear that forming female groups is only one solution to the stated problem, any other solution, which may help in solving the problem may be adopted. The real issue is not what solution we adopt, but actually our realization of the gravity of being careless about the repute and the 'good name' of an individual and the importance of safeguarding it, especially in the case of our sisters. 13 th March 1999 [1] Over here, the word implies a close male relative.