Rescuing a man from certain death and its effect on mahram status
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says in his final question: If a man rescues his brother from certain death, does he become his brother?
Answer:
No, rescue does not establish mahram status. Among the common people, it is believed that if one saves a woman from danger, or a protected person—whether Muslim or otherwise, whose blood is protected—by rescuing them from a deadly situation, this is recommended. In fact, it may be obligatory. It is obligatory, not merely recommended, because it involves saving the lives of others whose blood Allah has made inviolable, rescuing them from destruction. Therefore, it is obligatory, and there is a reward with Allah for it. However, it does not establish mahram status between the rescuer and the one rescued.
The questioner says in his final question: If a man rescues his brother from certain death, does he become his brother?
Answer:
No, rescue does not establish mahram status. Among the common people, it is believed that if one saves a woman from danger, or a protected person—whether Muslim or otherwise, whose blood is protected—by rescuing them from a deadly situation, this is recommended. In fact, it may be obligatory. It is obligatory, not merely recommended, because it involves saving the lives of others whose blood Allah has made inviolable, rescuing them from destruction. Therefore, it is obligatory, and there is a reward with Allah for it. However, it does not establish mahram status between the rescuer and the one rescued.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/252 — archive.org (16:39)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.