me and my husband are working in saudi arabia and are basically from india.he has father,mother,3 sisters and one brother.his brother is in america and one sister settled in jeddah in saudi arabia with her 3 children and husband.his second sister got married recently and is now pregnant 9 months.3rd sister is still unmarried and is a doctor in india.now the problem is that his sister will deliver on 5 may 2011 and she and her parents are asking my husband to come to india to be present at her delivery.although she has her husband,brother-in-law,sister in law,father in law...she has her own father,mother,and sister,,and she is herself a doctor,but they still want their brother who is my husband to come to india at her delivery..now the problem is that if my husband goes to india ,he has to leave me alone in saudi arabia.he cannot take me with himself because my office did not sanction my leave.he says his sisters blood group is o negative which is very rare,,and he himself has o negative blood group.she might need his blood.but my openion is that she is a doctor and she can arrange her blood group before her delivery.she is planning to deliver in the hospital where she is working.but my husband and his parents and his sisters r adamunt that he should come to india.it costs him a lot of money too.but money is not the problem.now my question is can he go to india for 16 days leaving me alone in the flat in saudi arabia?he says he will arrange one female nurse who is living in our building to come and sleep in my flat everynight untill he returns.i am not happy by his decission.i feel insecure.i dont know anyone here as i am new here.my husband has kept me a car driver who takes me to my work daily and brings me back.that driver will continue to take me to my work when my husband will be in india.does islam allow him to go to help his sister and leave his wife alone in a foreign country without any mehram?what should he do in these circumstances>?please answer soon.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, you should know that it is not obligatory for a woman to have a Mahram when staying in her residence; rather, the Mahram is a condition when travelling only. However, it is an obligation that a woman resides in a place where she feels secure as we clarified in Fatwa 120947.

Therefore, if your husband wants to travel, he has to leave you in a safe place. So, if this woman who would be with you when he is travelling is trustworthy and what is required is achieved by her staying with you, and she agrees to that, then your husband has done what is required of him and you have no right to object to his travel.

As regards you going to work with a non-Mahram man in his car, then this is not permissible. Indeed, a group of contemporary scholars issued a Fatwa that this is a forbidden seclusion; for more benefit in this regard, please refer to Fatwa 88013.

Nonetheless, your husband is not obliged to arrange for someone to take you to work, but you may look for a maid to accompany you in the car to and from work so that there will be no forbidden seclusion with the driver.

Allaah Knows best.