Ala-Maududi
(4:23) Forbidden to you are your mothers,[34] your daughters,[35] yoursisters,[36] your father’s sisters and your mother’s sisters, your brother’sdaughters and your sister’s daughters,[37] your milk-mothers, yourmilk-sisters,[38] the mothers of your wives,[39] and the stepdaughters –who are your foster-children,[40] born of your wives with whom you have consummatedthe marriage; but if you have not consummated the marriage with them, there will be no blameupon you (if you marry their daughters).
It is also forbidden for you to take the wives of the sons who have sprung from yourloins[41] and to take two sisters together in marriage,[42] although whatis past is past. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.[43]
34. The word ‘mother’ applies to one’s step-mother as well as to one’s real mother. Hence theprohibition extends to both. This injunction also includes prohibition of the grandmother, bothpaternal and maternal. There is disagreement on whether a woman with whom a father has had anunlawful sexual relationship is prohibited to his son or not. There are some among the earlyauthorities who do not believe in such prohibition. But there are others who go so far as to saythat a woman whom a father has touched with sexual desire becomes prohibited to the son.Likewise, there is disagreement among the scholars of the early period of Islam in regard to awoman with whom a person has had an illegitimate sexual relationship whether she is prohibitedto his father or not. In the same way there has been disagreement in regard to a man with whom amother or daughter has had an illegitimate sexual relationship, whether or not marriage with himis prohibited for both the mother and daughter. (See Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 113 ff., and Bidayatal-Mujtahid, vol. 2, pp. 33 f. – Ed.) There is a great deal of formal, legal discussion on thispoint. But even a little reflection makes it evident that if a man marries a woman who is atonce the object of the desire of either his father or his son, and if a man marries a woman andis attracted to either her mother or daughter, this militates against the requirements of arighteous society. The spirit of the Law is opposed to the legal hair-splitting which makes adistinction between sexual relations that take place either within the marital framework oroutside it, and between either touching or looking with desire and so on. The plain fact is thatif the sexual passions of both the father and the son are focused on the same woman, orconversely, if the sexual passions of both the mother and daughter are focused on the same man,this situation is full of evil and mischief for family life and the Law can never tolerate it.The Prophet (peace be on him) has said: ‘Whoever looks at the genitals of a woman, both themother and daughter of that woman become prohibited for him.’ In another tradition, the Prophet(peace-be on him) said: ‘God will not even care to look at the person who casts his look at thegenitals of a woman as well as those of her daughter.’ (Jassas, Ahkam al-Qur’an, vol. IV, p.141.) These traditions bring out the intent of the Law very clearly.
35. The injunction with regard to daughters applies to grand-daughters on both the paternal andmaternal sides as well. There is disagreement, however, whether a daughter born of anillegitimate relationship becomes prohibited or not. According to Abu Hanifah, Malik and Ahmadb. Hanbal such a daughter is prohibited in the same way as a daughter born in wedlock; Shafi’i,however, is of the opinion that such daughters are not prohibited. The very idea, however, ofmarrying a girl who was born of one’s own semen would be repulsive to any decent person.
36. This applies to full sisters as well as to half-sisters.
37. In all these relationships, no distinction is made between the full and step-relationships.The sister of a man’s father or mother, whether full sister or step-sister, is prohibited tohim. Likewise, the daughters of a man’s brothers and sisters are prohibited just as if they wereone’s own daughters. (See Bidayat al-Mujtahid, vol. 2, pp. 31 ff. – Ed.)
38. There is consensus among Muslims that if a boy or girl is breast-fed by a woman, that womanattains the status of mother, and her husband the status of father. It is forbidden to marryrelatives through milk where the degree of relationship is such as /to constitute a bar tomarriage in the case of blood-relations. The basis of this rule is the saying of the Prophet(peace be on him): ‘Whatever is rendered prohibited by descent (nasab) is likewise renderedprohibited by breast-feeding.’ (Bukhari, ‘Shahadat’, 4, 7,13,14; Muslim, ‘Rida’ah’, 1-14,26-30;etc. – Ed.) According to Abu Hanifah and Malik prohibition is established if a child sucklesmilk from a woman’s breast equal to that minimum quantity which nullifies fasting. But accordingto Ahmad b. Hanbal, it is established by three sucklings; and according to Shafi’i by five.There is also disagreement about the maximum age up to which breast-feeding leads to prohibitionof marriage with the woman concerned. In this connection, jurists have expressed the followingopinions:
(1) Suckling is of legal significance only when it occurs before a child has been weaned, andwhen milk is its main source of nourishment. If a child suckles from a woman’s breast afterhaving been weaned, this is legally no different from drinking anything else. This is theopinion of Umm Salamah and Ibn ‘Abbas, and a tradition to this effect has also been reportedfrom ‘Ali. This is also the view of al-Zuhri, Hasan al-Basri, Qatadah, ‘Ikrimah and Awza’i.
(2) Prohibition is established by breast-feeding during the first two years of a child’s life.This is the view of ‘Umar, Ibn Mas’ud, Abu Hurayrah and ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar. Among jurists,Shafi’i, Ahmad b. Hanbal, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani and Sufyan al-Thawrifollowed this view; and according to a report, so did Abu Hanifah. Malik largely followed thisview, but he was of the opinion that if breast-feeding took place a month or two after the ageof two, the prohibition would still remain in effect.
(3) The generally-reported opinion of Abu Hanifah and Zufar is that a bar to marriage is createdby breast-feeding up to an age limit of two and a half years.
(4) Some other jurists are of the opinion that the prohibition comes into effect irrespective ofthe age when breast-feeding takes place. This opinion is based on the view that the effectivecause of the prohibition is a woman’s milk, rather than the age of the person fed. Hence, evenin the case of an older person, the same prohibition would apply as in the case of an infant.This is the view of ‘A’ishah and this has been supported on the basis of a tradition from ‘Ali,which is presumably .authentic. Among the jurists this opinion has been followed by ‘Urwah b.al-Zubayr, ‘Ata’, Layth b. Sa’d and Ibn Hazm. (On this subject see Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 124 ff.;and Ibn Rushd, Biddyat al-Mujtahid, vol. 2,’pp’. 35 ff. -Ed.)
39. There is disagreement about prohibition in respect of the mother of the woman with whom onehas merely contracted marriage (without having consummated it). Abu Hanifah, Malik, Ahmad b.Hanbal and Shafi’i believe that such a relationship is prohibited. ‘Ali, however, holds theopinion that unless the marriage has been consummated the mother of one’s wife does not becomeprohibited.
40. The prohibitive restriction in regard to such girls is not based on the consideration oftheir having been brought up in the house of a step-father. The reference to the child’supbringing in his house points to the delicacy of this relationship. The jurists are almostunanimous that it is prohibited to marry one’s step-daughter irrespective of whether or not shehas been raised in the step-father’s house.
41. This restriction has been added because the widow of one’s adopted son is, according toIslam, not prohibited. It is only the wife of one’s own son who is prohibited. Likewise, thewives of grandsons (paternal and maternal) are prohibited to grandfathers (on both the mother’sand father’s side).
42. The Prophet (peace be on him) has taught that it is prohibited for a man to combine inmarriage an aunt – whether maternal or paternal – with her niece. The guiding principle is thatit is prohibited to have as wives two women who, if one were male, would be prohibited to eachother. (See Bidayat al-Mujtahid, vol. 2, p. 41 – Ed.)
43. This is an assurance that God would not call them to task for such misdeeds of the Jahiliyahperiod as combining two sisters in matrimony, provided they abstained from doing so in thefuture. See also (Surah An-Nisa, ayat 22) note 32 For this reason a man with two sisters as his wives is required to divorceone of them when he embraces Islam.
