Those to whom marriage is prohibited

The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

«Indeed Allaah has prescribed the obligatory (actions), so do not leave them, and He has specified the limits, so do not transgress them.»

Part of the overall Islaamic limits is that He has specified in marriage (nikaah) that which is permissible and that which is impermissible, Thus, He has prohibited a man from marrying certain women due to their relation (ties of the womb) to him, or due to them having been breastfed by the same woman or other than that.

Women to whom marriage is prohibited are therefore of two categories:

(1) Those to whom marriage is prohibited forever and
(2) Those to whom marriage is prohibited until circumstances dictate otherwise.

(1) Those to whom marriage is prohibited forever – and they are of three types:

[A] Those that are prohibited due to their relation (to the man): And they are seven (in total) as Allaah has mentioned them in Soorah an-Nisaa.:

{Forbidden to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters…} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 23)

(i) (The word) "your mothers", encompasses the mother, and the grandmothers – from both the mother's and father's side, (no matter how high up);

(ii) And (the word) "your daughters", encompasses one's own daughters, and his son's daughters and his daughter's daughters, no matter how low down;

(iii) And (the word) "your sisters", encompasses (full) blood sisters (sharing the same mother and father), (half-)sisters from the father's side and (half-)sisters from the mother's side;

(iv) And (the word) "your father's sisters", encompasses one's own paternal aunts, and the paternal aunts of his father, and the paternal aunts of his grandfathers, and the paternal aunts of his mother and the paternal aunts of his grandmothers;

(v) And (the word) "your mother's sisters", encompasses one's own maternal aunts, and the maternal aunts of his father, and the maternal aunts of his grandfathers, and the maternal aunts of his mother and the maternal aunts of his grandmothers;

(vi) And (the word) "daughters of your brothers", encompasses the daughters of his (full) blood brother, and the daughters of his (half) brother from his father (sharing the same father), and the daughters of his (half) brother from his mother (sharing the same mother), and the daughters of their sons and the daughters of their daughters and so on;

(vii) And (the word) "daughters of your brothers", encompasses the daughters of his (full) blood sister, and the daughters of his (half) sister from his father (sharing the same father), and the daughters of his (half) sister from his mother (sharing the same mother), and the daughters of their sons and the daughters of their daughters and so on;

[B] Those who have been breastfed by the same woman: And they are exactly the same as those who have been mentioned in the first category. The Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

«Breastfeeding results in prohibition of whatever is prohibited by blood relationship»

However, there are conditions for this prohibition which include:

(i) That the child must have drunk from the woman's breast milk five times or more. So if he were to have drunk from the woman's breast milk only four times, then she is not considered a mother to him.

This is based upon what Imaam Muslim transmitted on the authority of 'Aa.ishah (radhi-yAllaahu 'anhaa) who said:

«It was revealed in the Qur.aan that drinking from a woman's breast ten times prohibits her to the child; this was then abrogated by five. The Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) then died while this was being recited in the Qur.aan»

(ii) That breastfeeding is done before weaning, that's all the drinking of the breast milk is done five times, before weaning. But, if it is done after the weaning (period) or some of it before weaning and some of it after weaning, then the woman does not become a mother to him.

When the conditions for breast feeding are complete, then the baby becomes a child of the woman and her children become brethren to him, whether they were born before or after him. Similarly, the children of the husband whose child she was breastfeeding at the time become brothers and sisters to him, whether they are from the same woman who has breastfed him or from others.

Here, we should note that the relatives of the bresfed baby other than his offsprings have no relationship with the breasfeeding and it does not affect them at all. Thus, it is permissible for his blood brother to marry his breasfeeding mother or his sister from breastfeeding. But, the children of the baby (who was breastfed) become children of the breasfeeding mother and the husband whose baby she was suckling at the time, (that is) the ruling applies to him too.

[C] Those that are prohibited due to marital relationships:

(i) The wives of fathers and grandfathers no matter how high up, be they from the father's or the mothers side, because of the saying of Allaah:

{And marry not women whom your fathers married, except what has already passed; indeed it was shameful and most hateful, and an evil way.} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 22)

Thus, once a man enters a marital contract with a woman, she becomes forbidden to his children and their children no matter how low down, whether or not he has had sexual intercourse with her.

(ii) The wives of (his) children no, matter how low down, because of the saying of Allaah:

{the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 23)

Thus, whenever a man enters into a marital contract with a woman she becomes forbidden for his father and his grandfathers, because of the contract alone, even if he does not have intercourse with her, no matter how high up, be they from the father's or from the mother's side.

(iii) The mother of the wife and her grandmothers no matter how high up, because of the saying of Allaah the Exalted:

{And the mothers of your wives} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 23)

Thus, once a man marries a woman, her mother and grandmothers become forbidden for him, because of the contract alone, even if he does not have intercourse with her, no matter how high up, be they grandmothers from her father's or from her mother's side.

(iv) Daughters of the wife and the daughters of her sons, and the daughters of her daughters, and their descendants (i.e. his step-children and their descendants), no matter how low down, on condition that he has had sexual intercourse with her. But if divorce occurred before he has intercourse with the wife, then these children and their descendants are not forbidden to him, because of the saying of Allaah the Exalted:

{…your step daughters, (who are) under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in - but there is no sin on you if you have not gone in to them (to marry their daughters)} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 23).

Thus, once a man marries a woman and has intercourse with her, her children and their descendants become forbidden to him, no matter how low down, whether they were born in a marriage before or after she married him. But, if divorce happens between them before sexual intercourse, then the step-daughters and their descendants are not forbidden to him.

(2) Those to whom marriage is prohibited until circumstances dictate otherwise – and they are of the following types:

[A] The sister of his wife and her aunts (maternal and paternal), till he parts with the wife either after her death or in her life after she has finished Iddah (waiting period) because of the saying of Allaah the Exalted:

{(and also forbidden upon you is that) you combine between two sisters} (Soorah an-Nisaa., Aayah 23)

and the saying of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):

«A woman should not be married together with her paternal or maternal aunt»

[B] A woman in the state of iddah for another husband: that is if a woman is in her waiting period, (from a divorce) of another husband, it is forbidden for him to marry her till she finishes her Iddah. Similarly it is forbidden for him to propose to her during her iddah till she concludes it.

[C] A woman in a state of Ihraam for Hajj or Umrah: It is forbidden to marry a woman in such a situation till she concludes and goes out of the state of Ihraam.

Though there are other types of forbidden women but I decided to neglect them in order to avoid going into a lengthy discussion.

But, menstruation does not forbid conducting marriage with a woman, so she may be married off even though she may be in her period, but she should not have sexual intercourse except after the period is over and she has taken a bath (ghusl).