# Must a kidnapped woman have a mahram to escape?

*The kidnapped woman's escape: Ibn al-Humam and thinking within one's age*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jp8gjvvonms/s/3/
- Date: 2018-04-22 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Hadith Analysis & Fatwa: Women Can Travel Without a Mahram - Mufti Abu Layth (12:03–15:45)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp8GjvVONMs&t=723s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jp8gjvvonms/

**Topics:** Interaction between men and women; The Hanafi school and Imam Abu Hanifa

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth ridicules the classical debate over whether a captive woman may flee without a mahram, saying past scholars reasoned within their own environment.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says scholars of the past did not always think the way we do, but were thinking within their own environment.

**Evidence, his words at 14:26:** “you've got to understand that they didn't always think the way we think we are thinking within our own environment they were thinking within their own environment” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp8GjvVONMs&t=866s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says some scholars even problematised the case of a woman kidnapped or converted in a hostile land who has the chance to run away without a guardian. He reports Kamal al-Din ibn al-Humam's way out, that she must still flee because in Arabic this is called an escape, not a journey, and mocks the need to justify it at all, saying she should simply run. Mufti says that when people say all the past scholars missed an issue, one must understand that they did not always think as we do but within their own environment. He suggests Ibn al-Humam strained to justify it because of the notorious control of the Hanafi school, noting that Ibn al-Humam disagreed with it on some issues, faced heavy criticism and was disowned by his own student.

## Sources and names cited

- Kamal al-Din ibn al-Humam
- Hanafi

## Transcript (machine tier, 12:03–15:45)

[11:25] with with with neighboring with women who were his neighbors they would come with him when he would go to do Hajj so that's their kind of understanding okay now then in this the hanafi madhhab imam abu hanifa said that if the journey was more than three days like it was a lengthy journey the hajj then she can only go if she has a Muharram and the humbly seemed to go alongside with that as this is hearted Narada way as well in his method and I believe a booth phone

[12:02] as well so these are some of the classical understandings ok now then came another problem you see what's interesting is this problem came that oh well what if a woman was kidnapped and she's dead you know it just goes to show how some of the ala ma thought they say like Oh what if she's kidnapped or an inflamed and taken far away let's say she's taken away a hundred miles

[12:38] away so she's oh let's say she becomes a Muslim in a non-muslim land that is hostile to her so how can she much but if she runs away let's say she has an opportunity to run away if she runs away oh but she doesn't have a guardian and what's hilarious is some scholars just outright said you know it's an obligation she must still go it's shocking that they actually problematize

[13:17] this they actually saw this as a problem like mmm and Kamala D nibble on hammam the famous Hanafy his get out close was that well she can she she must still run away because it is a problem but aha we don't call this a journey because in Arabic this won't be called a journey this will

[13:49] be called an escape honestly I love how hard bit why not just say look get the hell out of there get the hell out of here any chance you get run why not just say something like are you crazy even trying to contemplate these issues just run run run have you heard of Forrest Gump just do a Forrest Gump that's the forget about trying to

[14:26] justify and the fact that oh well that's because it would apply but this is called an escape it's not called a journey for god sake do you live in the real world this so sometimes you see when people say all the scholars in the past didn't pick up on this issue you've got to understand that they didn't always think the way we think we are thinking within our own environment they were thinking within their own environment and one could ask why was a great scholar like hypno hammam really trying to justify this so much because

[15:06] the luck and the control that the hanafi madhhab had was a notorious one right so this is y and this is y if no hammam is one of those scholars who actually does disagree with the Hanafi method on a few issues and faces a hell of a lot of slack for it that they actually kind of they've almost dissed him to an opinion that they don't like taking his his anymore within the Hanafi mother and his own student was somebody that disowned him so you can see what they were suffering from so right so that's coming

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment jp8GjvVONMs/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jp8gjvvonms/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.