Traveling alone at night

23-6-2002 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it Haram to travel alone at night?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "If the people knew what I know about traveling alone, then nobody would travel alone at night" . [Reported by Imam al-Bukhari ].
Imam Ahmad reported in his 'Musnad' with the words: "If the people were aware of the dangers of being alone, no person would dare to travel alone" .
Shuaib al-Arnaut said concerning the chain of this Hadith: 'Its chain is correct and fulfills the conditions of Imams al-Bukhari and Muslim' .
The above two Hadith prove that traveling alone at night is blameworthy. The reasons for this condition is that if one needs help no one may be there who can help him, and he may not find help in doing good deeds.
However, traveling alone is permissible if there is a need, such as a scout to collect information on an enemy or the like.
Know however that even if traveling alone at night is dislikable, it is not a sin.
Allah knows best.