CHAPTER 8: FORBIDDEN MARRIAGES (1)
Permanently Prohibited Women
Introduction
Permanently prohibited women are the women that a man may never marry. Permanent prohibition can be a result of blood, marriage, or foster (breast-feeding) relationships. A man is a mahram to any woman who is permanently prohibited to him.
Allah (swt) mentions the permanently prohibited women in the following ayat:
“And do not marry the women whom your fathers had married — except what has already passed. Indeed, that was a shameful and hateful act (to Allah), and an evil way.” (An-Nisa 4:22.)
“Prohibited to you (for marriage) are your mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, brother’s daughters, sister’s daughters, foster mothers who breast-fed you, foster sisters, wives’ mothers, step-daughters under your custody and born of your wives with whom you have had intercourse — but if you have not had intercourse with them, there is no sin upon you (if you marry their daughters) —, the wives of your sons who are your own offspring, and that you simultaneously marry two sisters — except for what has already passed. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (An-Nisa 4:23.)
“And (also prohibited to you are) all married women, except those (captives and slaves) that your right hands possess. This is Allah’s decree upon you. And lawful to you are all (women) beyond these, provided that you seek them (in marriage) with gifts from your monies, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for those whom you enjoy (in marriage) from among them, give them their due compensation (main ) as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree (to give) beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.” (An-Nisa 4:24. )
Prohibition Based on Blood Relationships
From the above, we conclude that the women who are permanently prohibited for a man because of blood relationships are seven types:
1. His mothers (including his grandmothers from both sides, and further up).
2. His daughters and granddaughters (and further down).
3. His sisters (both full and half-sisters).
4. His paternal aunts (including his father’s, grandfathers’, mother’s, and grandmothers’ paternal aunts, and further up).
5. His maternal aunts (including his father’s, grandfathers’, mother’s, and grandmothers’ maternal aunts, and further up).
6. His brothers’ (both full and half-brothers) daughters and granddaughters (and further down).
7. His sisters’ (both full and half-sisters) daughters and granddaughters (and further down).
Prohibition Based on Marital Relationships
The women who are permanently prohibited for a man because of marital relationships are four types:
1. The wives of his fathers (and grandfathers, and further up). This prohibition occurs as soon as a father executes his marriage contract on a woman, even if he does not perform intercourse with her.
2. The wives of his sons (and grandsons, and further down). This prohibition occurs as soon as a son executes his marriage contract on a woman, even if he does not perform intercourse with her.
3. His wive’s mothers (and grandmothers, and further up). This prohibition occurs as soon as a man executes his marriage contract on a woman, even if he does not perform intercourse with her.
4. The daughters (and granddaughters, and further down) of the wives with whom he performed intercourse.
In regard to step-daughters (Case 4 above), most scholars hold the opinion that they are all prohibited, without exception — as soon as their step-father performs intercourse with their mother. They say that the “custody” restriction in the above ayah (4:23) is a description applicable to all step-daughters.
However, a very viable opinion is that the “custody” is intended as a restriction, and that a step-daughter who did not live in her stepfather’s house is only temporarily prohibited to him – as long as he is married to her mother. This opinion was held by ‘Ali.
Malik Bin Aws Bin al-Hadathan reported that he had a wife who bore him children and then died. He was extremely sorrowful for her death. He met ‘Ali who asked him, “What is wrong with you?” He replied, “My wife has died.” He asked him, “Did she have a daughter?” He said, “Yes, and she is at at-Taif (a town to the south of Makkah).” He asked, “Was she ever under your custody?” He said, “No.” He suggested, “Marry her then.” He said, “But what about Allah’s prohibition of ‘Your step-daughters who are under your custody’?” He said, “Indeed, she was not under your custody. Indeed, that only applies if she lived in your house.” (Recorded by ‘Abd ur-Razzaq and Ibn Abi Hatim. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1880))
Prohibition Based on Milk Relationships
The milk of the breast-feeding mother gives the baby nutrition and growth. When a woman breast-feeds a baby, he becomes related to her in a way similar to her delivered child.
‘A’ishah, Ibn ‘Abbas, and ‘Ali reported that Allah’s Messenger(pbuh) said:
“Indeed, Allah has prohibited (of marriages), based on breast-feeding, what He has prohibited based on birth (or blood-relationships).” (Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others. Review Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1876 for the various narrations of this hadith.)
However, for breast-feeding to result in prohibitive relationships, it must satisfy the following conditions:
1 . It should be performed on five or more distinct suckles.
2. The baby should be hungry and should drink its fill in each suckle.
3. All prohibiting suckles should take place before the baby’s weaning at the age of two.
‘A’ishah reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“One or two suckles do not cause prohibitions.” (Recorded by Muslim, Abu Dawud, and others.)
Umm uI-Fadl reported that when Allah’s Prophet (pbuh) was in her house once, a bedouin came and asked him, “O Prophet of Allah! I have just married a second wife, but my first wife claims that she suckled her on one or two occasions.” Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“One or two suckles do not cause prohibition.” (Recorded by Muslim, Ibn Majah, and others. )
Aishah reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“Check (O Women) who are your true brothers, because breast-feeding (that causes brotherhood) is that which satisfies hunger.” (Recorded by al-Bukhan, Muslim, and others.)
Umm Salamah and ‘Abdullah Bin az-Zubayr reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“Breast-feeding does not cause prohibition unless it expands the intestines (i.e., satisfies the baby’s hunger), and takes place before weaning.” (Recorded by at-Tirmidhi and lbn Majah. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa ul-Ghalil no. 2150 & Sahih ul-Jami no. 7495, 7633).)
‘A’ishah reported:
“It was first revealed in the Quran that, ‘Ten known suckles cause prohibition.‘ Five of those were then dropped, and it became, ‘Five known suckles cause prohibition.‘ This was the final state when Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) passed away.” (Recorded by Malik, Muslim, and others.)
In the following, we mean by “foster mother” the woman who breast-fed a person according to the above-listed conditions. And a “foster father” is the man who was married to the foster mother at the time of breast-feeding that person; i.e, he is the man who caused the foster mother’s milk.
In the following table, we list the eight common types of women who are permanently prohibited for a man because of breast-feeding relationships:
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A man’s foster sisters are of three types:
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It is important to note here that the foster relationships only apply to the breast-fed person and his offspring. They do not apply to other relatives, such as his blood brothers and sisters.
For example, consider a man “A” has a foster sister “B” a blood brother “C”, and a son “D”. In this case, “A” and “D” are prohibited from marrying “B”, but “C” is not.
Temporarily Prohibited Women or Marriages
Temporary prohibition is that which prevents a man from marrying a woman under certain conditions. If the conditions cease to hold, the prohibition ends and the woman becomes permissible for him.
The temporarily prohibited women are the following:
Marrying More than Four Women
If a man has four wives, all other women become temporarily prohibited for him. This means that he may not consider any additional woman for marriage unless he divorces one of his wives.
It is not allowed for a man to have more than four wives in Islam. Even for those who had more than four wives before embracing Islam, the Prophet (0) commanded them to select four of them and divorce the rest. Ibn ‘Umar reported that Ghaylan Bin Salamah had ten wives when he embraced Islam. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) told him:
“Keep four of them and divorce the rest.” (Recorded by at-Tirmithi, Ibn Majah, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1883).)
Simultaneously Marrying Two Sisters
As long as a man is married to a particular woman, all of her sisters become temporarily prohibited for him; he may not marry any of them unless he divorces their sister.
Abu Hurayrah reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“A woman may not be simultaneously married with her paternal aunt (to the same man), nor a paternal aunt with her niece, nor a niece with her maternal aunt, nor a maternal aunt with her niece, nor an older sister with her younger sister, nor a younger sister with her older sister.” (Recorded by Abu Dawud, an-Nasai and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1882).)
Simultaneously Marrying Aunts and Their Nieces
We see from Abu hurayrah’s above Hadith that it is not permissible to simultaneously marry an aunt and her niece. A man would have to divorce one of the two before he marry the other.
To the same meaning, Abu hurayrah, Jabir, Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Sa’id, Ibn ‘Umar and Ali all reported (The various narrations of this hadith are collected by al-Albani in Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1882) that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“One may not simultaneously have (as wives) a woman and her paternal aunt, nor a woman and her maternal aunt.”(Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others. )
Women Married to Other Men
This is clearly expressed in the above ayah of Surah un-Nisa (4:24).
The same applies to a woman who has been divorced a non-terminal divorce (first two times) and is still in her ‘iddah. Such a woman is considered to be still under her husband’s charge and no one may approach her for marriage before the completion of her ‘iddah.
Adulteresses
It is prohibited to marry a woman who is known to be adulteress or a prostitute – unless she had demonstratively repented. Allah (swt) says:
“A fornicator does not marry but a female fornicator or polytheist; and none marries a female fornicator but a fornicator or a polytheist. Such a thing is forbidden to the believers. “ (An-Nur 24:3.)
Habib al-Mu’allim reported that a man from al-Kufah (in Iraq) came to <Amr Bin Shuayb (Amr Bin Shuayb is the son of Shuayb Bin Muhammad Bin ‘Abdillah Bin Amr Bin al-‘As. He is thus the great-grandson of ‘Abdullah Bin ‘Amr.) and said, “Would it not surpr.se you to learn that al-Hasan (al-Basri) says that a whipped marry but a female whipped fornicator like himself?” Amr replied “What is it that surprises you? This has been reported to us from Sa’id al-Maqbiri from Abu Hurayrah that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“A whipped fornicator may not marry but one who is like himself ” (Recorded by Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and al-Hakim. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani(as-Sahiha no. 2444).)
In regard to this hadith, ash-Shawkani said:
“This is a general description applicable to anyone who is known to commit ma. It presents evidence that it is not permissible for a woman to marry a man who is known to commit zina. Similarly, it is not permissible for a man to marry a woman who is known to commit Zina. This is further indicated by the ayah (an-Nur 24:3).” (Nayl ul-Awtar 6:283.)
‘Amr Bin Shuayb also reported from his father from his grandfather that Marthid Bin AbT Marthid al-GhanawT used to help the Muslim captives run away from Makkah. A prostitute in Makkah called ‘Anaq was his girlfriend. He came to Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and asked him, “O Allah’s Messenger (pbuh), may I marry ‘Anaq?” Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) did not say anything until the above ayah was revealed, so he summoned him and said, “Do not marry her. ”(Recorded by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa’i, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 1886).)
Ibn ul-Qayyim said:
“What explains the prohibition is that this crime causes harm to the husband’s mattress (i.e., honor), and spoils the kinship relationships that Allah established among the people so that they would pursue their affairs … Thus, one of the beauties of the shariah is its prohibition of marrying an adulteress — until she repents and purifies her womb.” (lghathat ul-Lahfan 1:66.)
Ibn ul-Qayyim also said:
“As for marrying an adulteress, Allah has indicated its prohibition in Sural un-Nur, and He indicated that anyone who marries her is a fornicator or a mushrik. That is because he either believes in Allah’s commands and the obligation of following them, or does not believe. In the latter case, he would be a mushrik, and in the first he would be a fornicator because he knew Allah’s ruling and disobeyed it.” (Zad ul-Ma’ad 5:114).
Mushrik Women
A mushrik woman may not be married unless she embraces Islam. The subject of marrying non-Muslim women is covered in detail in a subsequent section.
Marriage During Ihram
A person who goes for Hajj or Umrah is prohibited from courting or marrying while he is in the state of ihram. (Ihram: A sacred temporary state for a pilgrim during which he renounces many of the worldly pleasures such as women and perfume.)
‘Uthman reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“A person in a state of ihram may not marry, be married, or propose to someone (for marriage).” (Recorded by Muslim and others.)
Marrying a Pregnant Captive-Woman
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) prohibited having intercourse with female war captives (whether as concubines or regular wives) until they purify their wombs from previous relationships.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said in regard to the war-captives of Awtas battle:
“One may not copulate with a pregnant woman until she delivers, nor with a non-pregnant woman until she menstruates (one time).” (Recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Bayhaqi, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih ul-Jami no. 7479 & Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 187).)
Ruwayfi Bin Thabit reported that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said:
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not irrigate someone else’s plantation with his water (i.e., sperm), and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not copulate with a captive of war until she purifies her womb (by menses).” (Recorded by Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, and others. Verified to be authentic by al- Albani (Sahih ul-Jami no. 6507, 6508 & Irwa’ ul-Ghalil no. 2137).)
Ibn Umar said:
“When a slave-girl who has had intercourse with men is given away or sold or freed, she should purify (her womb) with one menses. But a virgin need not purify.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari (without isnad) and al-Bayhaqi from Nafi’. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa ul-Ghalil no. 2139).)
By MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA AL-JIBALI
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