Can A Muslimah Drive?
When a woman is prevented from doing something from the authorities or from her husband then for all practical purposes that thing has been made forbidden for her. There are those who prevent Muslim women from driving and then turn around and say that they have not prohibited it. But some Muslim women will tell you that if they attempted to drive a vehicle their husbands would prevent them and in some countries the authorities would prevent them, so effectively it is a prohibition. The reason why those who ban women from driving do not out rightly declare it forbidden through Tahreem is because they know that everything in this worldly life is permissible except if there is a text to prohibit it, and they know there are no such texts which prohibit women from driving, and they know there are many texts which prove how in fact a woman can drive.
Allah says, ‘And (He created) the horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride…’ (Qur’aan 16:8)
Abu Hurairah narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, ‘The women of Quraish are the best women ever to ride camels. They are compassionate towards their children and the most careful with regards to their husbands.’ (saheeh of bukhaari)
So instead they promote their views by manoeuvring around the evidences through the extreme use of a secondary principle of Fiqh known as Sadd Al Dharaa’i which linguistically means blocking the means and juristically describes how a permissible action can be rendered forbidden to prevent a likely evil.
O you who believe! Say not Raa’inaa but say Unthurnaa and listen. (Qur’aan 2:104)
Those who formulated this principle derived it from the Qur’aan and Sunna such as the above verse where Allah (swt) forbids saying Raa’inaa, which is something permissible, due to blocking the means for the Jews to twist this word. So the jurists formulated this principle, gave it a name, and then applied it outside the Qur’aan and Sunna. However there are a few important considerations. Firstly it is one thing for Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saws) to use this principle and another thing for the jurist to use it. Secondly the Qur’aan and Sunna is enough to block all evil and enough of a Law to suffice us. Thirdly even if we agree that this principle can be applied in Ijtihaad then the scholars greatly differed as to its application due to the fact that this principle essentially prohibited that which Allah Himself allowed. So the principle has to be used cautiously, and the evil which requires to be blocked has to be established with certainty, and the rights of the individuals cannot be grossly violated at all. This is why scholars of the past did not agree on the application of this principle with many cautioning against its frequent or extreme use where rights may be violated and much of the permissible rendered disallowed. Yet despite this we see this principle being frequently used in women’s issues by some scholars to the point that we hear that a Muslim woman should cover her face, keep silent in public, not drive a vehicle all under the pretext that these actions prevent the likely evil of Fitnah with men. Under this obsession the principle of Sadd Al Dharaa’i has been used to the extreme until the woman has been oppressed and deprived of her most basic rights in Islam all under the pretext of blocking the means to evil. Perhaps we should suture the lips of the Muslimah or less brutally tape her mouth while securing her hands behind her back in handcuffs and refreshing the tape from time to time, giving her freedom only for food and good speech. Behold! We have blocked the means to foul speech. Also, it is one thing for these verdicts to remain within some Muslim lands where the men are so corrupt to the point that women will be harassed, stalked and followed should they drive a vehicle but these verdicts have been imported into the Western world where Muslim women can safely drive a vehicle. And not only that, by driving her own vehicle the Muslimah avoids taxis where she might find herself alone with a taxi driver and she avoids the hustle and bustle of using public transport. There are many benefits of driving her own vehicle, and this is something permissible in Islam, and she is not in need of cultural verdicts when Islam itself is her culture and the Sunna her custom and All Praise be to Allah Who is free and far removed from many erroneous opinions which are circulating in the Muslim World today.
Kamillah
