Did the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) perform Hajj without a mahram?
Question

                The wives of the holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) performed Haj many times after his death. Can this be taken as a daleel that a woman may perform Haj without a mahram but with a group of women who have their Mahrams with them.
Praise be to Allah.
    The correct scholarly view is that that of the Hanafis and 
    Hanbalis who say that it is not permissible for a woman to travel for Hajj 
    or for any other purpose without a mahram, because the Prophet  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman should travel except 
    with a mahram.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1862) and Muslim (1341). 

    This has already been discussed in the answers to questions 
    no. 3098, 
    34380 and 
    47029. 

    But some scholars, such as the Shaafa’is and Maalikis, and 
    some of the salaf, were of the view that it is permissible for a woman to 
    travel for Hajj without a mahram, if she travels with a trustworthy group. 

    They quoted as evidence that which the questioner mentions, 
    that the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) did Hajj without a mahram. That is mentioned in the report narrated by 
    al-Bukhaari (1860), that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with 
    him) gave permission to the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) during the last Hajj that he performed, and he sent 
    ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf with them. 

    The scholars who hold the first view quote a number of things 
    as evidence, including the following: 

    1 – They said that it does not say in the hadeeth that they 
    did not have a mahram with them. Perhaps their mahrams were with them in the 
    caravan of Hajj itself, and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab sent ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan 
    and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf with them as an additional sign of respect and 
    for extra peace of mind. It cannot be thought that the Sahaabah would go 
    against the Prophet’s prohibition on women travelling without mahrams, 
    especially since some reports – even though their isnaads are somewhat 
    questionable –  indicate that their mahrams were present. 

    Ibn al-Jawzi narrated in al-Muntazam, concerning the 
    events of 23 AH, that Abu ‘Uthmaan, Abu Haarithah and al-Rabee’ said: ‘Umar 
    did Hajj with the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him), with whom were their mahrams before whom they did not have to 
    observe hijab. At the front of their caravan he put ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf 
    and at the rear he put ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan …  

    Moreover, it is highly unlikely that their mahrams would not 
    be present, since so many people travelled for Hajj with them from Madeenah. 
    It is most likely that there would be a brother, grandfather, maternal 
    uncle, paternal uncle or another mahram through breastfeeding, because 
    breastfeeding of other people’s children was very common at that time. 

    2 – If we assume that there were no mahrams with them, then 
    that may have been an ijtihaad on their part. It is well known that the 
    ijtihaad of the Sahaabah cannot be accepted if it goes against a sound text 
    narrated from the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

    Al-San’aani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    That cannot be taken as evidence, because there is no 
    consensus. 

    Subul al-Salaam (2/930). 

    3 – A third group of scholars argued that this was something 
    that applied only to the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him), because they were the Mothers of the Believers, and all 
    men were their mahrams. 

    Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    All the people were mahrams for ‘Aa’ishah, so no matter who 
    she travelled with, she was travelling with a mahram, but that does not 
    apply for any women other than her. End quote. 

     ‘Umdat al-Qaari’ (10/220). 

    But this answer of Abu Haneefah is not acceptable, because 
    the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    were the Mothers of the Believers with regard to marriage, but they were not 
    mahrams. If the Mothers of the Believers were mahrams it would have been 
    permissible for them to take off their hijabs in front of them, be alone 
    with them etc., and no one would suggest such a thing. 

    Ibn Taymiyah says in Manhaaj al-Sunnah (4/207) of the 
    wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): They 
    are the Mothers of the Believers in the sense that it is haraam for anyone 
    else to marry them, not in the sense that they are mahrams. End quote. 

    The best answer is the first one. 

    To conclude: it is not permissible to reject saheeh hadeeths 
    because of interpretations of some of the deeds of the Sahaabah which may be 
    interpreted in more than one way. What is required is to follow that which 
    is proven and not that which is subject to different interpretations. 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
    was asked: They say that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) did Hajj 
    with ‘Uthmaan without a mahram. 

    He replied: 

    This requires evidence. It is not permissible to say that she 
    did Hajj without a mahram with no evidence. She must have had a mahram. She 
    had her brother’s sons, she had her brother ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, she had the 
    sons of her sister Asma’. The one who says that she did Hajj without a 
    mahram is lying unless he can offer proof. Moreover, even if we assume that 
    she did Hajj without a mahram, then she was not infallible; none of the 
    Sahaabah were infallible. Evidence is that which was said by Allaah and His 
    Messenger; the view of So and so is not evidence. Whatever goes against the 
    Sunnah cannot be regarded as evidence. Evidence is to be found in the saheeh 
    Sunnah. This is what is well known among the scholars, and it is that on 
    which there is consensus.  

    Al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The people 
    are unanimously agreed that once the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has become clear to a person, he 
    has no right overlook it and follow the view of any person.  

    Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of any 
    of us may be accepted or rejected, except the occupant of this grave 
    (meaning the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). 

    What is meant is that what is required of the people of Islam 
    and the believers is to accept the Sunnah, and it should not be ignored 
    because of the views of this person or that person. Moreover, ‘Aa’ishah 
    should not be thought of as going against the Sunnah, when she was a well 
    known faqeehah and the most knowledgeable of the world’s women, and she is 
    the one who heard ahaadeeth from the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him). End quote. 

    Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz 
    (25/361, 362) 

    Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    If someone were to say: This hadeeth does not say that there 
    was a mahram with them. Can it be said that the case of the wives of the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was different 
    because they were the Mothers of the Believers, not in the sense of their 
    being mahrams but as a sign of respect? Or can it be said that nothing is 
    said here about mahrams, but he sent these two noble Sahaabis with the 
    mahrams? The first is possible, and so is the second. 

    If we accept the principle that the ambiguous should be 
    understood in the light of what is clear and definitive, what can we say? 

    The answer is that we accept the second possibility, and we 
    say that there must have been mahrams with them, but these two noble 
    Sahaabis were sent with them as an honour and a sign of respect towards the 
    Mothers of the Believers (may Allaah be pleased with them). End quote. 

    Sharh Kitaab al-Hajj min Saheeh al-Bukhaari 
    (tape no. 19, side 2). 

    And Allaah knows best.