SELECTED STUDIES

Forbidden Marriages

By Prof. Hassan Hathout
FRCOG, FRCSE, FACS, PhD (Edin)

Marriage is the institution through which a man and a woman pair off and legitimately unite to form one unit of humanity. It is a root which branches off into the known blood relations such as maternity, paternity, and fraternity and their ever widening circles of blood relatives...referred to in Islam as the 'relations of the womb'.

Marriage is mandatory in Islam for whoever can afford it. Commenting on a group of people who wanted to devote all their time for worship and thought they had no time for marriage and the duties it would impose on them, the Prophet Muhammad said:

"Marriage is my tradition. He who rejects my tradition is not of me." (Bukhari; Muslim)

Islam has provided a set of guidelines that help in causing marriage to be stable, enjoyable and happy. Various attractions may motivate people in their choice, and perhaps blind them to consequences that could not be difficult to anticipate. A nice looking person may not prove to be the suitable companion in this life long journey of marriage. Similarly wealth may be luring but is certainly no guarantee of happiness.

The Quran clearly identifies relatives that are not to be married by men or women in the following verse (aya):

"Prohibited to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, daughters, sisters, fathers' sisters, mothers' sisters, brother's daughters, sister's daughters, foster-mothers who gave you suck, foster-sisters (daughters of mothers who gave you suck), your wives' mothers, your step-daughters under your guardianship born to your wives to whom you have gone in (consummated marriage), no prohibition if you have not gone in, (those who have been wives of your sons proceeding from your loins (biological sons), and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time except for what is past, for God is Oftforgiving." (4:23)

Juridically, a mother is so defined to include all women contributing to you by the way of birth, i.e. mother's mother, mother's grandmother, and great grandmother...as well as father's mother, her mother, and grandmothers. Daughter signifies a female ascended to you...i.e. daughter's daughters and grand daughters etc. Sister is a woman sharing one or both parents (step sister included). A paternal aunt is the woman who shares with father or grand father one or both parenthood roots, and similarly a maternal aunt is that who shares with mother one or both roots. The same scale applies to milk-fosterage relations. Forbidden to marry is the woman who suckled as she is considered mother, her mother for she is grandmother, her mother in law for she is also grandmother, her sisters for they are aunts, her husband's sisters for they are paternal aunts, her grand daughters for they are nieces, all of course as well as her daughters or step daughters for they are considered sisters.

Other categories of women are also forbidden but only for as long as the cause for objection lasts. This applies mainly to a woman during the 'waiting period' (idda) following a previous marriage. Another case is bigamy if both wives are related in such a way that if one were a man, the other would be on the forbidden list given above.

Prof. Hassan Hathout is one of the distinguished scientists. He is a former head of obstetrics and gynaecology department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuwait. He lives in South Pasadena and is the founder of the Islamic Center of Southern California, USA.

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