whose daughter converts to Islam, says: He shall not marry her off, nor shall he travel with her; he is not a mahram for her. Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i said: He is a mahram for her, because she is permanently forbidden to him. Our argument is that establishing the status of a mahram necessitates being alone with her, so it must not be established for a disbeliever over a Muslim woman, just like guardianship over a child. Furthermore, he is not trusted not to tempt her away from her religion, just like a child. What they have mentioned is invalidated by the case of the mother of one with whom adultery was committed, her daughter, the woman forbidden due to li'an (imprecation), and the Zoroastrian with his daughter. There should be no disagreement regarding the Zoroastrian, for he is not trusted with her and believes her to be lawful. Ahmad stated this in several places. It is stipulated that the mahram must be a mature adult of sound mind. It was said to Ahmad: Can a young boy be a mahram? He replied: No, not until he reaches puberty, for he cannot take care of himself, so how can he travel with a woman? This is because the intent behind the mahram is the protection of the woman, which can only be achieved by a mature adult of sound mind, and thus it was a requirement.

Section: The expense of the mahram during Hajj is upon her. Ahmad stated this explicitly, because he is part of her journey, so his expenses are her responsibility, like the mount. Based on this, it is required for her capacity that she possesses the provisions and the mount for herself and her mahram. If her mahram refuses to perform Hajj with her, despite her offering to cover his expenses, she is like one who has no mahram, because (15) she cannot perform Hajj without one. Is he obligated to comply with her request? There are two narrations regarding this, and he explicitly stated both. The correct view is that he is not obligated to perform Hajj with her, because Hajj involves severe hardship and great expense, and one is not compelled to undertake it for another's sake, just as he is not compelled to perform Hajj on her behalf if she is ill.

Section: If a woman's mahram dies on the road, Ahmad said: If she has traveled a long distance, she should continue and complete the Hajj. It was said to him (16): She arrived from Khurasan, and her guardian died in Baghdad? He replied: She should continue to the Hajj, and if it is specifically the obligatory one, it is even more emphasized. Then he said: