Who Is Considered a Mahram in Islam?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Are those whom we cannot marry considered mahrams? For example, since we cannot marry polytheists, like Hindus, does this make them mahrams? What is the ruling on this?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The definition of a Mahram is someone of the opposite gender who you could never marry, regardless of the circumstances. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

A Hindu or polytheist could potentially embrace Islam, and marriage to them would then be permitted – therefore, they are not Mahram, as there is a scenario in which it would be permissible to marry them.

Same goes with the spouse of one’s sibling. While they are married to one’s sibling, he/she cannot marry them; however, if they divorce or are separated due to a death – it would then be permissible to marry them. Therefore, the spouse of one’s sibling is not mahram.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.