What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And do not marry those [women] your fathers have married, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, it was an immorality and a disgrace, and an evil path.”

The questioner : A listener asks about the saying of Allah the Exalted from Surat al-Nisa: to His saying: ?

The Shaykh : In this noble verse, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) explained the prohibitions in marriage, and the causes of prohibition in these verses return to three things:
Kinship, breastfeeding, and affinity. His saying: indicates that it is not permissible for a man to marry a woman his father or grandfather, however high up the line, has married, whether the grandfather is on the mother’s side or the father’s side, and whether he had intercourse with the woman or not. If a man contracts a valid marriage with a woman, she becomes forbidden to his sons, his sons’ sons, and his daughters’ sons, however far down the line.
And in His saying: is an explanation of what is forbidden by kinship, and they are seven:
Mothers, however high up the line, from grandmothers on the father’s side or the mother’s side; daughters, however far down the line, from sons’ daughters and daughters’ daughters, however far down the line; your sisters, whether full sisters, paternal half-sisters, or maternal half-sisters; your paternal aunts, who are the sisters of fathers and grandfathers, however high up the line, whether full paternal aunts, paternal half-aunts, or maternal half-aunts. Full paternal aunts are your father’s sisters from his mother and father; paternal half-aunts are his sisters from his father; and maternal half-aunts are his sisters from his mother. Your maternal aunts are: the sisters of the mother and grandmother, however high up the line, whether full maternal aunts, paternal half-aunts, or maternal half-aunts. Full maternal aunts are your mother’s sisters from her mother and father; paternal half-aunts are her sisters from her father; and maternal half-aunts are her sisters from her mother. Know that every maternal aunt of a person, or every paternal aunt of a person, is a paternal aunt for him and for those who branch from him, and a maternal aunt for him and for those who branch from him. So your father’s paternal aunt is your paternal aunt, and your father’s maternal aunt is your maternal aunt. Likewise, your mother’s paternal aunt is your paternal aunt, and your mother’s maternal aunt is your maternal aunt. And the daughters of brothers, however far down the line, whether the brother is a full brother, a paternal half-brother, or a maternal half-brother. So your full brother’s daughter, or his paternal half-brother’s daughter, or his maternal half-brother’s daughter is forbidden to you, and her daughter’s daughter is forbidden to you, and her son’s daughter is forbidden to you, however far down the line. And we say the same regarding the daughters of sisters. These are seven by kinship . If you wish to summarize them, say: It is forbidden for a man from women: the ancestors, however high up the line; the descendants, however far down the line; the descendants of the father and mother, however far down the line; and the descendants of the grandfather and grandmother, specifically through the direct line.
And in His saying: is a reference to what is forbidden by breastfeeding. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So what is forbidden by kinship is forbidden by its equivalent in breastfeeding. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, daughters of brothers, and daughters of sisters. So the equivalents of these by breastfeeding are forbidden due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
And His saying: These three are forbidden by affinity.
His saying: means that it is forbidden for a man to marry his wife’s mother and her grandmother, however high up the line, whether on the father’s side or the mother’s side. It becomes forbidden to him merely by the marriage contract. So if a man contracts a marriage with a woman, her mother becomes forbidden to him and becomes one of his mahrams, even if he has not had intercourse with her, meaning even if he has not had intercourse with the daughter. If the daughter were to die or he were to divorce her, her mother would still be forbidden to him. If he delayed having intercourse with the woman he married, her mother would still be forbidden to him; he may uncover her, travel with her, and be alone with her, and there is no blame on him. This is because the wife’s mother and her grandmothers are forbidden merely by the contract, due to the generality of His saying: .
And His saying: refers to the wife’s daughters and the daughters of her children, however far down the line. Whenever a man marries a woman, her daughters from another man are forbidden to him and are among his mahrams. Likewise, the daughters of her children, whether male or female, meaning the daughters of the children, whether the children are male or female. So her son’s daughter and her daughter’s daughter are like her daughter. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) stipulated two conditions here:
He said: So He stipulated that for the prohibition of the stepdaughter, she must be in the man’s care, and He stipulated another condition that he must have had intercourse with her mother, meaning he must have had sexual relations with her.
As for the first condition: It is, according to the majority of scholars, a majority condition with no legal implication. For this reason, they said: The daughter of a wife with whom intercourse has occurred is forbidden to the husband who had intercourse with her, even if she is not in his care.
As for the second condition, which is His saying: , it is an intended condition. For this reason, Allah the Exalted mentioned its legal implication, but He did not mention the legal implication of His saying: . This indicates that the legal implication of His saying: is not considered. As for , Allah considered its legal implication and said: .
And as for His saying: , the meaning is that the son’s wife is forbidden to his father merely by the marriage contract, and the son’s son’s wife is forbidden to his grandfather merely by the marriage contract. For this reason, if a person contracts a valid marriage with a woman and then divorces her immediately, she becomes forbidden to his father and his grandfather, however high up the line, due to the generality of His saying: . And a woman becomes a wife to her husband merely by the contract.
So these are three causes that necessitate prohibition: kinship, breastfeeding, and affinity. The prohibitions by kinship are seven, and the prohibitions by breastfeeding are the equivalents of the prohibitions by kinship, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
And the prohibitions by affinity are four: His saying: and His saying: , . And the fourth is His saying: .
And as for His saying: , this prohibition is not a permanent prohibition, because the prohibition is the joining together. So the wife’s sister is not forbidden to the husband, but what is forbidden to him is to join her with her sister. For this reason, He said:
Just as it is forbidden to join together two sisters, it is forbidden to join together a woman and her paternal aunt, and a woman and her maternal aunt, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So those between whom joining is forbidden are three: two sisters, a woman and her paternal aunt, and a woman and her maternal aunt.
As for the daughters of paternal uncles and the daughters of maternal uncles, meaning that a woman is the daughter of a paternal uncle of another woman, or the daughter of a maternal uncle of another woman, it is permissible to join them together.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh Muhammad, and may He magnify your reward for what you have presented to us and to the honorable brother listeners.