Question: Is it permissible for an Islamic sister to sit alone with a non-Maḥram male driver in a rickshaw, car, or taxi without her husband or a reliable Maḥram man?
Answer: Two things are very important here: Firstly it is Ḥarām for a woman to be alone with a non-Maḥram man. The Beloved and Blessed Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم warned, ‘Beware, no man is alone with a (non-Maḥram) woman except that there is a third one with them, the devil.’ (Sunan-ut-Tirmiżī, vol. 4, pp. 67, Ḥadīš 2172)
The famous commentator, Ḥakīm-ul-Ummat, Muftī Aḥmad Yār Khān عَـلَيْهِ رَحْـمَةُ الْـمَنَّان gave the following comments about this blessed Ḥadīš in Mirāt, volume 5, page 21: Whenever a man is alone with a non-Maḥram female, however, pious they might be, even if they are together for a religious cause, the devil will most certainly instigate evil between them and arouse their sexual emotions. There is a risk of them committing fornication! Therefore, one must be very very cautious of such seclusion. It is necessary to avoid the causes of evil. If you want to prevent fever, prevent the cold. (Mirāt)
‘Allāmaĥ ‘Abdur Raūf Manāwī عَـلَيْهِ رَحْـمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ الۡـقَـوِی made the following comment about this blessed Ḥadīš: Whenever a woman is alone with a non-Maḥram man, this is a profitable opportunity for the devil. He makes them have indecent thoughts in their hearts, arouses their sexual emotions, and incites them both to be shameless and commit sin. (Fayḍ-ul-Qadīr Sharḥ Al-Jāmi’-uṣ-Ṣaghīr, vol. 3, pp. 102, Taḥt-al-Ḥadīš 2795)
We learn that it is absolutely prohibited for a non-Maḥram man and woman to be alone together. Not only is this an opportunity for the devil to tempt them both to sin, it is also a place of accusation; in fact, there is even a risk of fornication. Secondly, to avoid situations