Women To Whom Marriage is Prohibited

It is permanently haram for a Muslim to marry a woman who belongs to
one of the following categories:
1.Thefather's wife, whether divorced or widowed. During the period of
jahiliyyah such marriages were allowed. Then Islam prohibited them,
for once a woman is married to a man's father she acquires the status
of his mother, and this prohibition is out of honor and respect for
the father. Moreover, as this inviolable prohibition leaves no room
for sexual attraction between the son and his step-mother, they are
able to develop a relationship of respect and honor.
2.Themother, including the grandmothers on both sides.
3.Thedaughter, including the granddaughters from the son or daughter.
4.Thesister, including the half, and step-sisters.
5.Thepaternal aunt, whether she is the real, half, or step-sister of the father.
6.Thematernal aunt, whether she is the real, half, or step-sister of the father.
7.Thebrother's daughter, i.e., his niece.
8.Thesister's daughter, i.e., her niece.
All these female blood-relatives are a man's muharramat and he is
mahrem to his corresponding female relatives. Marriage to any mahrem
whomsoever is permanently prohibited. Thereasons for this
prohibitionare as follows.
a.Entertaining any sexual thoughts concerning such close relatives as
one's mother, sister, and daughter is instinctively abhorrent to human
nature; there are even certain animals which avoid mating with such
closely-related animals. The respect a man feels for his aunts is like
the respect he has for his mother, and likewise uncles are regarded as
fathers.
b.Since the family must live together in intimacy and privacy but
without incestuous relations, the Shari'ah intends to cut at the roots
of any sexual attraction among such close relatives.
c.Since there is natural love and affection among such close blood
relatives, the intent of the Shari'ah is to expand the circle of love
and kinship by prohibiting incest and thereby directing the man's
search for women outside the family. Thus each marriage extends the
sphere of love, bringing new people within this ever-expanding network
of affection: "And He has put love and mercy between you." ( Surah 30:
Verse 21)
d.The natural sentiments of love and affection between a man and the
above-mentioned female relatives must be kept strong forever. If
marriage were permitted between such relatives, it would cause
jealousies, dissensions, and the disruption of families, destroying
the very sentiments of love and affection which give cohesiveness and
permanence to the family structure.
e.The offspring of marriages to such close blood relatives would most
probably be defective and weak. Moreover, if physical or mental
defects are present in the members of a family, they would become more
pronounced among the children of such marriages.
f.The woman needs someone to champion her rights and support her case
against her husband, especially when relations between the two of them
become strained. If those women who could defend her became rivals,
how would this be possible?
Marriages Prohibited by Reason of Fosterage
1.The foster mother: It is haram for a Muslim to marry a woman who has
suckled him during his infancy, for suckling makes her like his real
mother, since milk has gone into the making of his flesh and bones.
Nursing consciously or unconsciously produces feelings of motherhood
in a woman and of kinship in a child, and although these feelings
might seem to disappear as the child grows and becomes a man, they
remain hidden in the unconscious.
However, the prohibition of marriage based on fosterage is effective
only if the suckling occurred before the time of weaning; that is,
when milk was the primary source of food. Another condition is that
the child has suckled his fill on five separate occasions, a fill
being defined as when the child leaves off suckling of his own accord.
After a survey of all the ahadith on this subject, the fixing of five
sucklings as the minimum seems to be the preferred view.
2.Foster sisters: Just as a woman become a mother to a child by virtue
of suckling, likewise her daughters become his sisters, her sisters
his aunts, and so on. The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "What is
haram by reason of genealogy is haram by reason of fosterage."
(Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Thus the foster-sisters,
foster-aunts, and foster-nieces are all muharramat and marriage to
them is permanently prohibited.
In-law Relationships
1.Themother-in-law: Marriage to the wife's mother is permanently
prohibited from the time a man enters into a marriage contract with a
woman, whether he and his wife have engaged in sexual intercourse or
not. The act of marriage itself gives the mother-in-law the same
status as the mother.
2.Thestep-daughter: A man cannot marry his step-daughter (his wife's
daughter by a previous marriage) if sexual intercourse has taken place
with her mother, his wife. However, if a man divorces his wife without
having had intercourse with her, it is permissible for him to marry
her daughter by a previous marriage.
3.Thedaughter-in-law: That is, the wife of the real son, not that of
the adopted son. In fact, Islam abolished the permissibility of the
system of legal, formalized adoption, because this is contrary to fact
and to reality, resulting in the prohibiting of what is essentially
halal and the permitting of what is essentially haram. Allah Ta'ala
says: ...Nor has He made your sons by adoption your (real) sons. Those
are simply words from your mouths....(33:4) meaning that it is merely
an expression of the language which does not alter reality nor
transform an outsider to the family into a blood relative.
These three types of female relatives are forbidden in marriage in
order that peaceful relationships may be maintained among the in laws.
Sisters as Co-Wives
1.As opposed to the practice of the period of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic
era), Islam forbade taking two sisters as co-wives at the same time,
because the feeling of love and sisterliness which Islam wants to
maintain between sisters would be destroyed if one sister became the
co-wife of the same husband.
While the Qur'an mentioned the two sisters, the Prophet (peace be on
him) added, "A man may not be married to a woman and her paternal aunt
(at the same time), nor to a woman and her maternal aunt". (Reported
by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) and he said, "If you do this, you will
sever your ties of kinship." (Reported by Ibn Hibban.) And how could
Islam permit the breaking of such kinship ties when it places so much
importance on them?
Married Women
1.As long as a woman is married, her marriage to any other man is
prohibited. She may marry another man only when two conditions are
fulfilled:
a.Her marriage tie is broken either because of thedeathof herhusbandor
because ofdivorce;
b.She has completed the period of waiting ('iddah) ordained by Allah.
For a pregnant woman this period ends when she delivers the baby. If
she is widowed but not pregnant, the period of 'iddah is four months
and ten days, while if she is divorced and it is not known whether or
not she is pregnant, the 'iddah is three menstrual cycles. This 'iddah
relates to the woman who has menstrual periods; for a woman who does
not menstruate, the 'iddah is three months.
Allah Ta'ala says:
"And divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly
periods. And it is not permissible for them to conceal what Allah has
created in their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day." (
Surah 2: Verse 228)
"...and As for those who have no further expectation of menstruation
among your women, if you are in doubt, the waiting period is three
months, as well as for those who have no menses. And for those who are
pregnant, their period is until they deliver their burdens." ( Surah
65: Verse 4)
And, "For those of you who die and leave behind widows, they shall
wait concerning themselves for four months and ten days..." ( Surah 2:
Verse 234).
Of thesefifteencategories of female relatives to whom marriage is
prohibited,fourteen are mentioned in Surah al-Nisa:
"And do not marry those women whom your fathers married, except what
is past; indeed, it was an indecency and an abomination, and an evil
path. Forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters, and your
sisters and your father's sisters and your mother's sisters, and your
brothers' daughters and your sisters' daughters, and your foster
mothers and your foster sisters, your wives' mothers, your
stepdaughters under your guardianship born of your wives to whom you
have gone in—and if you have not gone into them there is no blame on
you—and the wives of your sons proceeding from your loins, and that
you should marry two sisters at one time, except what is past; indeed
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." ( Surah 4: Verses 22-23)
The prohibition against being married to a woman and any of her aunts
at the same time is derived from the hadith cited above.