Does Hurmat Al-Musahara Apply to People of the Same Gender?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Does Hurmat al-Musahara apply to the same gender? For instance, a mother stroked her adult daughter’s hair. The daughter felt a deal of ease and comfort but was unsure if it was anything more than that. (e.g., lustful feeling in the heart.) She is getting a lot of waswasa and doesn’t believe she felt any lustful inclination.
Another scenario- if a person already felt lust and someone touched them (unknowingly), is it Hurmat al-Musahara, as the lust wasn’t directed at the other person?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
Hurmat al-Musahara cannot take place between people of the same gender. It should be borne in mind that Hurmat al-Musahara is only established between a man and a woman. This is because the reason is the possibility of the woman falling pregnant. This is not found in if a man was to kiss his son, irrespective of whether he has reached the age of puberty or not. [Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Marghinani, al-Hidayah]
Therefore, in the first case scenario, nothing will take place as the contact is between two family members of the same gender; neither of you felt any lustful inclination, as you mentioned, and the basis is it will be presumed innocent.
The second is just an assumption, a kind of doubt, and it should be ignored, as it is from Shaytan. Stay assured. Please do not worry.
Related:
Desire and the Dissolution of Marriage? The Issue of “Hurmat al-Musahara” – SeekersGuidance
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
