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:

This is with reference to your reply abot the question#1376.- "can first cousins marry".

I'd like to confirm about these Mehrams of  a woman. You mentioned in your reply that the Mehram of a woman are:

1. Son in law

2. Father in law

3. step father

4. step sons (includes his sons,  grand sons, etc.)

And the Mehrams of a Man are:

1. Daughter in law

2. Mother in law

3. Step mother

4. Step daughter (includes her daughters, and so on)

Can you please explain how come above is possible as i noticed most of the times that a woman does hijab esp. in front of Son-in-law ( & vice versa). And I also heard that when a step son/daughter becomes mature then hijab should be maintained. please clarify whether it's true regardless of their ages.

Please note that i'm just asking about the Mehram's (for Hijab) but not whether they can be married or not.. like the sister of wife can't be married though she is Non-Mehram for a man.

Thanks again for your valuable information/replies as it's very useful for those who've limited their lives to  work & family matters and they can't find any time to attend  religious meetings etc. and they follow what their elders or others follow regardless of right or wrong. And i've been sending to others who doesn't have email or they just have local email(within office).

Jazakallahu khairan,

(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:

Confirmation on Mehrams

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 (in 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.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Nur verse 31:And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah that ye may attain Bliss.

Your question: Can you please explain how come above is possible as i noticed most of the times that a woman does hijab esp. in front of Son-in-law ( & vice versa).

Allah Subhanah declares in the above quoted aayah of Surah Nisaa “….Forbidden to you (in marriage) are….. the mothers of your wives….”.

The commandment of Allah Subhanah in the above aayah is extremely clear that the son-in-law is a mehram of his wife’s mother; and there is no need for her to do hijab in the presence of her son-in-law. In fact, the son-in-law, even if he divorces his wife, will forever remain a mehram with his mother-in-law and can never ever marry the mother of even his ex-wife!

Your question: And I also heard that when a step son/daughter becomes mature then hijab should be maintained. please clarify whether it's true regardless of their ages.

In front of children until they reach the age of puberty, the woman does not have to maintain hijaab regardless of her relationship with them. This is clear from the above quoted verse of Surah Nur: “….or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex….”.

There is no hijab between a husband and his wife’s daughters from another marriage; nor is there any hijab between a wife and her husband’s sons from another marriage; regardless of the age of their step-sons and daughters. This is clear from the above quoted verse of Surah Nur: “……their husbands' sons…..”.

Your Comments: Thanks again for your valuable information/replies as it's very useful for those who've limited their lives to work & family matters and they can't find any time to attend  religious meetings etc. and they follow what their elders or others follow regardless of right or wrong. And i've been sending to others who doesn't have email or they just have local email(within office).

May Allah Subhanah reward you generously for your efforts in propagating the Truth of Islam to your friends, colleagues, and family members. May Allah Subhanah accept your and our humble efforts, forgive us our short-comings, and save you and us all from the torment of the Hell Fire.

The determination or criteria between right and wrong, Truth and falsehood should never be what is being followed, or what was followed by our elders or forefathers or our community; for Allah Subhanah declares that the Quran is the Absolutely Criterion between Truth and falsehood, and those who follow their elders and forefathers blindly without any evidence or basis from the Quran are indeed mis-guided from the Right Path.

Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185:"Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood."

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 31 Surah Luqman verse 21:And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has sent down”, they say, “We shall only follow that upon which we found our forefathers.” What! Will they still be following them even if Shaitaan had been calling them to the raging Fire?

May Allah Subhanah have Mercy on the believers and guide us all to the Straight Path of Al-Islam.

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