Is it permissible for a woman to uncover herself in front of her husband's father or her husband's father-in-law?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for my wife to uncover herself in front of my mother's husband?
The Shaykh : We should know the rule regarding the prohibition of in-laws. There are four categories of in-laws who become prohibited: the wife's mother, the wife's daughter, the husband's mother, and the husband's son. What are they?
The student: The wife's mother, the husband's father, the wife's mother and the wife's daughter, and the husband's father and the husband's son.
The Shaykh : Yes. Good, well done. These are four; three of them become prohibited merely by the marriage contract, and one does not become prohibited except through sexual intercourse.
Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:22] So if a man marries a woman, she becomes prohibited to his son, and his son's son, and his daughter's son, and so on, because of His saying: [An-Nisa 4:22]. And He said in the verse following it: . So if a woman marries a man, his mothers and grandmothers, however high up the line, become prohibited to him. And He said: [An-Nisa 4:23]. Before that: [An-Nisa 4:23] Who are your stepdaughters? They are the wife's daughters. So if a man marries a woman, her daughters become prohibited to him, and their daughters, and their daughters' daughters, and their sons' daughters, and so on. But Allah qualified this with two conditions; pay attention to them. The first condition: [An-Nisa 4:23]. This is a condition of [An-Nisa 4:23]. This is the second condition.
So the wife's daughter does not become prohibited to the husband except under two conditions: that she be in his custody and that he have intercourse with her mother, i.e., the wife. As for the second condition, Allah the Exalted said about it:[An-Nisa 4:23]. As for the first condition, [An-Nisa 4:23], Allah was silent about its implication, and for this reason most scholars did not consider it and said that this condition is a general one with no specific implication. So it has no implication that contradicts it. Therefore, the wife's daughter whom he has had intercourse with is prohibited, whether she was in his custody or not. They reasoned their position by the fact that Allah the Exalted mentioned the contrary implication in His saying: [An-Nisa 4:23]. And He was silent about the contrary implication in His saying: [An-Nisa 4:23]. This is evidence that the condition in His saying: [An-Nisa 4:23] is not considered. The important point is that three of these become prohibited merely by the contract: the mothers of women, the wives of fathers, and the wives of sons. As for the daughters of wives, they do not become prohibited unless he has had intercourse with their mother. For this reason, if a man contracts a marriage... now let us give an example. Zayd contracts a marriage with a woman named Zaynab, who has a mother named A'ishah and a daughter named Fatimah. How many women are there? Three. Zaynab is the wife, A'ishah is the wife's mother, and Fatimah is the wife's daughter.
Then he divorced Zaynab before having intercourse with her, and he came to ask: Is it permissible for me to marry Fatimah, Zaynab's mother? No, it is not permissible.
The student: Fatimah, the daughter.
The Shaykh : Is it permissible? Yes, is it permissible for me to marry A'ishah, Zaynab's mother? Is it not permissible? My brothers, he did not have intercourse with her mother. The example again. A man marries a woman named Zaynab, who has a mother named A'ishah and a daughter named Fatimah.
Then he divorced his wife Zaynab before having intercourse with her, meaning after a month had passed and he had not visited her and had not had intercourse with her, he divorced her. Then he came to ask: Can I marry her mother, A'ishah?
The student: He does not marry her.
The Shaykh : He does not marry her? Why?
The student: Because she is the wife's mother.
The Shaykh : Because she is the wife's mother, and the wife's mother becomes prohibited merely by the contract. Good. We asked: Is it permissible for me to marry Fatimah, Zaynab's daughter?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. Yes, it is permissible. Why? Because he did not have intercourse with her mother.
Good, he asked: Is it permissible for me to marry Zaynab?
The student: He does not marry her.
The Shaykh : She did not die, my brother. How did she die? Her death is not in his control. Good, is it permissible for him to marry Zaynab?
The student: Before the waiting period.
The Shaykh: My brothers. He divorced her, he divorced Zaynab, and she is released from him. As you know, a divorce before intercourse has no waiting period; she is released immediately upon the divorce. So he came to ask now, saying: Is it permissible for me to marry A'ishah? You said: It is not permissible. Is it permissible for him to marry Fatimah? You said: Yes. Is it permissible for him to marry Zaynab? It is permissible, may Allah reward you. It is permissible, my brothers. I say it is permissible, permissible. What prohibited her to him? Is she his wife? He divorced her and wants to marry her; a new contract is necessary because there is no waiting period; she was released from him immediately upon the divorce. So it is permissible, permissible, he can marry Zaynab.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And A'ishah?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No. Fatimah?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah reward you.
Good. Is it permissible for him to contract a marriage with Fatimah before divorcing A'ishah, and he has not had intercourse with A'ishah? I mean, yes. Is it permissible for him to marry Fatimah before divorcing Zaynab, and he has not had intercourse with her?
The student: It is not permissible
The Shaykh : It is not permissible? Because it is not permissible to marry a woman and her mother, just as it is not permissible to marry two sisters. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:23]. I hope you pay attention to these rules.
The in-laws who are prohibited are four: three become prohibited merely by the contract, and one does not become prohibited except by entry, which is intercourse. Good.
The Shaykh : We should know the rule regarding the prohibition of in-laws. There are four categories of in-laws who become prohibited: the wife's mother, the wife's daughter, the husband's mother, and the husband's son. What are they?
The student: The wife's mother, the husband's father, the wife's mother and the wife's daughter, and the husband's father and the husband's son.
The Shaykh : Yes. Good, well done. These are four; three of them become prohibited merely by the marriage contract, and one does not become prohibited except through sexual intercourse.
Allah the Exalted said:
And do not marry those [women] whom your fathers married
ولا تنكحوا ما نكح آباؤكم من النساءAnd do not marry those [women] whom your fathers married
ولا تنكحوا ما نكح آباؤكم من النساءand the mothers of your wives
وأمهات نساؤكمthe wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins
وحلائل أبناؤكم الذين من أصلابكمand your step-daughters under your guardianship [born] of your wives unto whom you have gone in. But if you have not gone in unto them, there is no sin upon you.
وربائبكم اللاتي في حجوركم من نسائكم الآتي دخلتم بهن فإن لم تكونوا دخلتم بهن فلا جناح عليكمyour step-daughters under your guardianship
ربائبكم اللاتي في حجوركمof your wives unto whom you have gone in
من نسائكم اللاتي دخلتم بهنSo the wife's daughter does not become prohibited to the husband except under two conditions: that she be in his custody and that he have intercourse with her mother, i.e., the wife. As for the second condition, Allah the Exalted said about it:
But if you have not gone in unto them, there is no sin upon you.
فإن لم تكونوا دخلتم بهن فلا جناح عليكمunder your guardianship
اللاتي في حجوركمunto whom you have gone in
اللاتي دخلتم بهنunder your guardianship
اللاتي في حجوركمunder your guardianship
اللاتي في حجوركمThen he divorced Zaynab before having intercourse with her, and he came to ask: Is it permissible for me to marry Fatimah, Zaynab's mother? No, it is not permissible.
The student: Fatimah, the daughter.
The Shaykh : Is it permissible? Yes, is it permissible for me to marry A'ishah, Zaynab's mother? Is it not permissible? My brothers, he did not have intercourse with her mother. The example again. A man marries a woman named Zaynab, who has a mother named A'ishah and a daughter named Fatimah.
Then he divorced his wife Zaynab before having intercourse with her, meaning after a month had passed and he had not visited her and had not had intercourse with her, he divorced her. Then he came to ask: Can I marry her mother, A'ishah?
The student: He does not marry her.
The Shaykh : He does not marry her? Why?
The student: Because she is the wife's mother.
The Shaykh : Because she is the wife's mother, and the wife's mother becomes prohibited merely by the contract. Good. We asked: Is it permissible for me to marry Fatimah, Zaynab's daughter?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. Yes, it is permissible. Why? Because he did not have intercourse with her mother.
Good, he asked: Is it permissible for me to marry Zaynab?
The student: He does not marry her.
The Shaykh : She did not die, my brother. How did she die? Her death is not in his control. Good, is it permissible for him to marry Zaynab?
The student: Before the waiting period.
The Shaykh: My brothers. He divorced her, he divorced Zaynab, and she is released from him. As you know, a divorce before intercourse has no waiting period; she is released immediately upon the divorce. So he came to ask now, saying: Is it permissible for me to marry A'ishah? You said: It is not permissible. Is it permissible for him to marry Fatimah? You said: Yes. Is it permissible for him to marry Zaynab? It is permissible, may Allah reward you. It is permissible, my brothers. I say it is permissible, permissible. What prohibited her to him? Is she his wife? He divorced her and wants to marry her; a new contract is necessary because there is no waiting period; she was released from him immediately upon the divorce. So it is permissible, permissible, he can marry Zaynab.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And A'ishah?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No. Fatimah?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah reward you.
Good. Is it permissible for him to contract a marriage with Fatimah before divorcing A'ishah, and he has not had intercourse with A'ishah? I mean, yes. Is it permissible for him to marry Fatimah before divorcing Zaynab, and he has not had intercourse with her?
The student: It is not permissible
The Shaykh : It is not permissible? Because it is not permissible to marry a woman and her mother, just as it is not permissible to marry two sisters. Allah the Exalted said:
and that you take [in marriage] two sisters simultaneously
وأن تجمعوا بين الأختينThe in-laws who are prohibited are four: three become prohibited merely by the contract, and one does not become prohibited except by entry, which is intercourse. Good.