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:

i had a question.. pls clarify..

is it true that my sister's husband IS my MEHRAM? and can i have evidence from the Quran and Hadith in this regard.

Is my sister's husband my Mehram or not. If yes, why. If no, why?

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Answer:

Is sister husband mehram

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Arabic term ‘mehram’ is derived from ‘haraam’ which literally means something which is sacred, or sacrosanct, or prohibited. In the terminology of ‘Fiqh’ or Islamic Jurisprudence a ‘mehram’ relative is one to whom marriage is absolutely and permanently prohibited; and a ‘non-mehram’ is generally one to whom marriage is permissible.

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 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.

Beloved sister, for your reference we will provide you with a list of the ‘mehram’ relatives of a woman:

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

Your Question:…. Is my sister's husband my Mehram or not. If yes, why. If no, why?

One’s sister’s husband is not amongst one’s ‘mehram’ relatives in Shariah; and absolutely every law and restriction which applies to a non-mehram male member of the opposite gender would be applicable to one’s sister’s husband.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 23 (part):

……and it is unlawful for you to keep two real sisters as wives at one and the same time,…..

Although it is prohibited and unlawful in Islam for one to marry and keep two real sisters as ones’ wives at one and the same time, this prohibition is only temporary, not permanent. For example, if one marries a woman and one divorces her or she dies, it would be lawful in Shariah for the same person to marry the sister of his ex-wife….thus because marriage to one’s sister’s (ex)husband is permissible in Shariah, one’s sister’s husband is not considered one’s ‘mehram’.

A ‘mehram’ is one to whom marriage is permanently prohibited (father, brother, sons, maternal/paternal uncles, etc.)

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan