In Islamic
sharia legal terminology, a mahram
(Arabic محرم, also transcribed mahrim or
maharem) is an unmarriageable kin with whom
sexual intercourse would be considered incestuous, a
punishable taboo. Current usage of the term covers a
wider range of people and mostly deals with the
practice of hijab.The plural form of the word in the
Arabic language is maharim with long second
vowel (Arabic محارم, also transcribed maharem).
Sometimes the word is capitalized but there isn't a
general consensus that the word should be
capitalized like Muslim.
Who is mahram?
Anybody from the same sex or those of opposite
sex that have not passed
puberty are considered as mahram.A woman's
opposite-sex mahrams fall into four categories
(three categories in the strict-sense definition
that does not count one's spouse). Note that mahrams
for a man can be derived in a similar manner.
- husband
- permanent or blood mahrams
with whom you become mahram by a blood
relationship:
- father, grandfather, great-grandfather
and so on;
- brother;
- son, grandson, great-grandson;
- uncle, parents' uncle, grandparents'
uncle and so on;
- nephew, grandnephew, great-grandnephew
and so on;
- in-law mahrams with whom you become
mahram by marrying someone:
- father-in-law;
- son-in-law;
- step-father (mother's husband) if their
marriage is consummated;
- step-son (husband's son) if her marriage
is consummated;
- radha' or milk-suckling mahrams
with whom you become mahram because of being
nursed by a woman. When a woman
breast feeds an infant that is not her own
child for a certain amount of time with certain
conditions, she becomes the child's radha'
mother and all said about blood mahrams applies
here like radha' father/mother, radha'
sister/brother, radha' aunt/uncle and so on.
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