A woman’s mahram is anyone whom she is permanently forbidden to marry, because of blood ties, ties through marriage, or breastfeeding.
Allah عز وجل lists the men who are considered mahram for women in Surah Nur verse 31;
في قوله -تعالى-: وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their hidden adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers sons or sisters sons, their fellow women, those bondwomen in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers, so that you may be successful.”
Below is the full in-depth list of a women’s mahaarim;
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Mahram through blood ties:
–Father (including paternal and maternal grandfathers going up)
–Sons (including grandsons of both sons and daughters going down)
–Brothers (including half-brothers from mother or father, not including stepbrothers from mother or fathers spouse i.e. your mothers husband or fathers wife have children from a previous marriage)
–Nephews
–Paternal and Maternal Uncles (including granduncles going up)
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Mahram through marriage:
–Husband
–Father-in-law (including grandfathers going up)
–Stepsons (including grandsons going down)
–Stepfather
–Son-in-law
But the condition for a stepfather to be a women’s mahram is that he must consummate his marriage with the mother. As illustrated in the verse:
وَأُمَّهَـٰتُ نِسَآئِكُمْ وَرَبَـٰٓئِبُكُمُ ٱلَّـٰتِى فِى حُجُورِكُم مِّن نِّسَآئِكُمُ ٱلَّـٰتِى دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ
“…your mothers-in-law, your stepdaughters under your guardianship if you have consummated marriage with their mothers”
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Mahram through breastfeeding:
Allah says in Surah Nisa, verse 23:
قال الله -جل وعلا-: وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ
“Also forbidden to you for marriage are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal and maternal aunts, your brother’s daughters, your sister’s daughters, your foster-mothers, your foster-sisters, your mothers-in-law, your stepdaughters…”
Therefore, whoever is breastfed by a woman five times, before the age of two years, becomes her child through breastfeeding and she becomes their mother.
The evidence that the breastfeeding that makes milk kinship is five times or more:
حديث عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ: كَانَ فِيمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ: عَشْرُ رَضَعَاتٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ يُحَرِّمْنَ، ثُمَّ نُسِخْنَ، بِخَمْسٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ، فَتُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَهُنَّ فِيمَا يُقْرَأُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ. رواه مسلم 1452
‘A’isha said that in what was sent down in the Qur’an “ten known sucklings made marriage unlawful”, but they were abrogated by five known ones, and when God’s Messenger died these words were among what was recited in the Qur’an.
The evidence that breastfeeding must take place within the first two years of the child’s life:
وَالْوَالِدَاتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ. البقرة 233
“Mothers will breastfeed their offspring for two whole years, for those who wish to complete the nursing of their child.”
To illustrate how this would look like; if a woman breastfeeds a baby girl (i.e., you), she becomes your mother by way of breastfeeding, her husband becomes your father by way of breastfeeding and the couples’ other children become your siblings by way of breastfeeding. You now share the same mahaarim as you would have had if it were through blood relations which includes uncles and nephews. (refer to list on mahram through blood ties)
The evidence for this is taken from the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
قال النبي ﷺ: يحرم من الرضاع ما يحرم من النسب
“What becomes mahram through breastfeeding is that which becomes mahram through blood ties.”
The only exception is that the breastfed child’s blood siblings can marry the breastfed child’s siblings through breastfeeding. Since they are not considered related. This relation is specific to the child that is breastfed and not their biological family.
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Common Questions Regarding a Women’s Mahram
- Brothers of father-in-law
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The brothers or the uncles of one’s father-in-law are not mahram to the wife.
This is because they fall under the Hadith:
الحمو الموت
The husbands brother is death
(i.e it is more dangerous to be around them since they are considered family but still not a mahram)
And the scholars say the brother-in-law is the same in ruling as the uncles-in-law. - Father-in-law (when the marriage has not been consummated)
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If a man has not consummated his marriage with a women then her daughters do not become mahram to him. This is a condition on him that is clarified in the Quran. As for the father-in-law then he becomes her mahram بمجرد العقد, upon the marriage contract (consummating the marriage is not a condition). So once they are married he becomes her mahram.
And yes, even if she gets divorced from her husband before consummation, the father-in-law stays her mahram. - Father and uncles of step-father
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The father and uncles of ones step-father are not mahram.
The father of the step-father is mahram to his wife (your mother) and any children that are between them, but not mahram for you (daughter from your mothers previous marriage) - Husband of your step-daughter
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If your husbands daughter (from another marriage) gets married, her husband (your “son-in-law”) is not mahram to you (step-mother). He is mahram to her biological mother. - Ex-husband to daughters of second husband
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If a women gets divorced from her first husband (after consummation), then gets married to another man and has daughters with him. Her ex-husband is considered a mahram to these daughters from her current husband. - What if my family is non-Muslim?
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The ulama say that if her mahram is not Muslim then he is still her mahram. They only make a condition that she is safe from his fitnah and fisq (his sins, corruption etc.) in the case that she is to travel with him.