Short answer
In the Hanafi school: her husband, or a man she can never marry (by blood, marriage or breastfeeding) who is adult, sane and trustworthy. A boy close to puberty who understands can count; a young child cannot. A non-Muslim relative such as a father counts if he is trustworthy. A man who cannot be trusted to protect her does not.
The mahram for travel must be her husband or a permanent mahram who is baligh (or close to puberty), sane, not a Majusi, and not a fasiq who cannot be relied on. For hajj, being able to pay the mahram's costs is part of her being able to go.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- For an obligatory Hajj she may travel with a group of trustworthy women instead of a mahram.
- Maliki
- For an obligatory Hajj a safe company of trustworthy people is enough.
Explanation
A woman travelling the distance of a journey, about 48 miles (77 km), needs her husband or a mahram with her in the Hanafi school. See can a woman travel without a mahram. The Prophet ﷺ said a woman should not travel except with her father, her son, her husband, her brother or another mahram. But not every mahram can fill that role.
Conditions for the mahram:
- A permanent mahram: father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, father-in-law, son-in-law, a milk relative and so on. See who is a mahram. Cousins, a brother-in-law and a sister's husband do not count.
- Adult or close to it: a small son cannot protect her. The Hanafi texts accept a boy near puberty (murahiq) who understands and can look after her.
- Sane.
- Trustworthy: a man who drinks, is careless with women or would not protect her does not fulfil the purpose.
- Not a Majusi (Zoroastrian), since some of them historically considered marrying close relatives lawful, so he cannot be trusted with her. A trustworthy Christian or Jewish father or brother does count.
Costs. For hajj, the Hanafi school counts the mahram's expenses as part of whether she is able to go. If she cannot pay for herself and a mahram, hajj is not yet fard on her. A husband is not obliged to take his wife to hajj, but it is a great kindness.
Groups of women. A group of women does not replace a mahram in the Hanafi school, though the Shafi'i and Maliki schools allow a trustworthy group for the obligatory Hajj. See Hajj without a mahram.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:97
فِيهِ ءَايَٰتٌۢ بَيِّنَٰتٌۭ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُۥ كَانَ ءَامِنًۭا ۗ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًۭا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٩٧﴾
In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
Hajj is due on those able to make the journey, which for a woman includes a mahram in the Hanafi school.
Sahih Muslim 1340
Sahih... إلا ومعها أبوها أو ابنها أو زوجها أو أخوها ...
"Except with her father, her son, her husband or her brother."
The kind of man who may accompany a woman on a journey.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3006
Sahih... ولا تسافرن امرأة إلا ومعها محرم ...
"And no woman should travel except with a mahram."
The general rule for a woman's journey.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Hajj, the conditions that make hajj obligatory. With a husband or a mahram who is adult, sane, not Majusi and not fasiq; his costs are on her.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Hajj, the conditions of obligation. A boy near puberty is treated like an adult as a mahram.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hajj, a woman's ability. A group of trustworthy women is enough for the obligatory Hajj.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.