Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, a () is a family member with whom

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

would be considered permanently unlawful (''

haram ''Haram'' (; ) is an Arabic term meaning 'taboo'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; or, in direct cont ...

''). A woman does not need to wear

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

around her mahram or spouse, and an adult male mahram or husband may escort a woman on a journey, although an escort may not be obligatory.

Overview

People with whom marriage is prohibited

* permanent or blood ''mahrams'' include: ** all direct ancestors ** all direct descendants ** siblings ** siblings of parents, grandparents, and further antecedents ** children and further descendants of siblings *

in-law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in th ...

''mahrams'' with whom one becomes ''mahram'' by marrying someone: ** all the ancestors of one's spouse ** all the descendants of one's spouse ** all who marry a direct ancestor ** all who marry a direct descendant (A woman may marry her stepfather, but only if the stepfather has not consummated his marriage to her mother.) * ''Rada'' or "milk-suckling ''mahrams''" with whom one becomes ''mahram'' because of being nursed by the same woman: ** foster mother ** foster sibling When a woman acts as a wetnurse (that is she breast feeds an infant that is not her own child for a certain amount of time under certain conditions), she becomes the child's ''rada'' mother. In English these can be referred to as

milk brother Milk kinship, formed during nursing by a non-biological mother, was a form of fostering allegiance with fellow community members. This particular form of kinship did not exclude particular groups, such that class and other hierarchal systems did ...

, milk-mother, and so on. For a man, ''mahram'' women include his mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, grandaunt, niece, grandniece, his father's wife, his wife's daughter (step-daughter), his daughter-in-law (if previously married to his biological son. She is not ''mahram'' if she was married to his adopted son), his mother-in-law, his ''rada'' mother and ''rada'' sister. According to the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, "What is forbidden by reason of kinship is forbidden by reason of suckling." These are considered ''mahram'' because they are mentioned in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

(An-Nisa 22–23): All of the man's female relatives mentioned in these two verses are considered his ''maharim'', because it is unlawful (''haram'') for him to marry them, except the wife's sister, whom he can marry if he divorces her sister, or if his wife dies. The notion of ''mahram'' is reciprocal. All other relatives are considered non-''maharim''.

Legal escorts of women during journey

A woman may be legally escorted during a journey by her husband, or by any sane, adult male ''mahram'' by blood, although an escort may not be required, including: * her father, grandfather or other male ancestor * her son, grandson or other male descendant * her brother * her uncle, great uncle, or uncle from a previous generation * the son, grandson, or other descendant of her sibling

Rules

Mahram

A Muslim woman's ''mahrams'' form the group of allowable escorts when she travels. For a spouse, being ''mahram'' is a permanent condition. That means, for example, that a man will remain ''mahram'' to his ex-mother-in-law after divorcing her daughter.

References