Mu` meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah`s Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamualikum brother burhan. My question is that hadrat ali (RA) is cousin of our Prophet(SAWS) then how was it possible for his daughter to be married to Ali (RA). please clarify this.  

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can first cousins marry

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His  forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verses 22-23:

And do not marry at all those women whom your father had married, though what has happened in the past is excepted. This is an indecent and abominable thing and an evil practice.

Forbidden to you (for marriage) are your mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, brother’s daughters, sister’s daughters, your foster mothers who have given suckle to you, your foster sisters who have taken suckle with you, the mothers of your wives, the daughters of your wives whom you have brought up, the daughters of your wives with whom you have conjugal relations, and it is not sinful for you to marry their daughters (after having divorced them). Also forbidden to you are the wives of your sons who are from your loins, and it is unlawful for you to keep two real sisters as wives at one and the same time, though what has happened in the past is excepted, for Allah is indeed Forgiving, Merciful.

In Shariah, cousins or offsprings of cousins are not mehrams, and therefore it is perfectly legal for them to be married.

Below is the list of mehrams for the man and the woman in Islam; these are the people with whom Islam has forbidden marriage.

List of Mehram of the woman:

1. Husband
2. Father (includes grand father, great grand father, great great grand father, etc.)
3. Sons (includes sons’s and daughter’s sons, grand sons, and so on)
4. Brother ( includes brother’s sons, his sons, and so on)
5. Sister’s sons (includes sister’s son’s sons, his sons, and so on)
6. Paternal and Maternal uncles
7. Son in law
8. Father in law
9. step father
10. step sons (includes his sons, grand sons, etc.)
11. All the men who have shared the suckle of the woman she suckled with.

List of Mehram of the man:

1. Wife
2. Mother (includes grand mother, and so on)
3. Daugther (includes son’s and daughter’s grand daughters, and so on)
4. Brother’s daughters (includes their daughters, grand daughters, and so on)
5. Sister (includes their daughters, grand daughters, and so on)
6. Paternal and Maternal aunties
7. Daughter in law
8. Mother in law
9. Step mother
10. Step daughter (includes her daughters, and so on)
11. All the women who have shared the suckle of the woman he suckled with.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan