Her husband gave her permission to travel for a naafil Hajj then he retracted it; can she travel without his permission?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

What is required of the husband is to fear Allaah in his
dealings with his wife and to treat her kindly. If he dislikes one of her
characteristics, he should remember that she has other qualities for which
he should be pleased with her. He should remember that he too is not free
from mistakes and errors, so he should overlook her mistakes and forgive her
for her errors if she repents to her Lord. He should treat her kindly so
that Allaah may create love and compassion between him and his wife.

Secondly:

It is not permissible for a woman to travel for Hajj or for
any other purpose except with a mahram, and there is nothing in your
question to indicate whether or not there is a mahram with you. If you do
not have a mahram to travel with you, then it is not permissible for you to
travel, regardless of whether your husband has given you permission or not,
even if that is for the obligatory Hajj.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
said:

It is established in sharee’ah that it is haraam for a woman
to travel without a mahram, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, according to the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas: “No woman
should travel except with a mahram.” Narrated by Ahmad, al-Bukhaari and
Muslim. And it was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) say when he was delivering a khutbah: “No man should be
alone with a woman unless she has a mahram present, and no woman should
travel except with a mahram.” A man stood up and said: My wife has gone out
for Hajj and I have enlisted for such and such a campaign. He said: “Go and
do Hajj with your wife.” Narrated by Ahmad, al-Bukhaari and Muslim.

A woman is forbidden to undertake any kind of travel, unless
she has a mahram with her to protect her and look after her. The mahram is
her husband, or one to whom marriage is permanently forbidden because of
blood ties, breastfeeding or ties through marriage, such as her father, son,
brother, brother’s son (nephew), paternal uncle, maternal uncle, father in
law, husband’s son, her son through breastfeeding, her brother through
breastfeeding, and so on. This applies whether the woman is young or old,
whether she is alone or with other women. A group of women is not sufficient
in place of a mahram, because of the general meaning of the ahaadeeth, and
because the reason (for her not to travel alone) is still there.

What women and their guardians have to do is fear Allaah and
obey the commands of Allaah and His Messenger, and refrain from that which
has been forbidden by Allaah and His Messenger, especially when it comes to
preserving modesty and chastity and avoiding everything that may lead to
evil and corruption. It is not permissible to allow desires for worldly gain
to make them negligent with regard to this matter.

Hence it is not permissible for a woman to travel to perform
the obligatory Hajj without a mahram, and those who are in charge of Hajj
trips should not allow that, so as to avoid the sin of falling into
something that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbade, and so as to close the door to evil and corruption. Allaah, may He
be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka‘bah) is
a duty that mankind owes to Allaah, those who can afford the expenses (for
one’s conveyance, provision and residence)”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:97]

One of the conditions of a woman being able to do Hajj is
that she should have a mahram who agrees to make himself available to travel
with her, and Allaah does not burden any soul beyond its scope.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(17/334-336)

Thirdly:

Just as you should know that it is not permissible for a
woman to travel except with her husband’s permission, the scholars are
unanimously agreed that it is not permissible for a woman to go for a
voluntary (naafil) Hajj except with her husband’s permission.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

As for the voluntary Hajj, he has the right to prevent her
from doing it. Ibn al-Mundhir said: All of the scholars from whom I learned
knowledge were agreed that he has the right to prevent her from going out
for a voluntary Hajj.

That is because the rights of the husband are obligatory, and
she has no right to give precedence to something that is not obligatory.

Al-Mughni (3/192)

It is not permissible for you to travel for Hajj –even if you
have a mahram – if you husband has retracted his permission.

But the husband should not prevent his wife from traveling to
do an act of worship if that is not for a legitimate shar’i reason; he will
have a share of the reward that he attains if he gives her permission, and
if he helps her his reward will be greater.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni
(3/283): If a husband has given his wife permission to do a naafil Hajj,
then he has the right to retract his permission before she enters ihram, but
if she has entered ihram then it is not permissible for him to retract his
permission.

You have to apologize to your friend and explain to her the
reason why you cannot travel with her, and explain that this is obedience to
Allaah and seeking not to disobey Him. The Muslim cannot give precedence to
pleasing any person, no matter who he is, over pleasing Allaah, may He be
exalted.

We ask Allaah to make things easy for you and to set things
straight between you and your husband.

And Allaah knows best.