Mahram

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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. (The Arabic alphabet of course has no upper-case vs. lower-case distinction.)

Note that being mahram is a reciprocal condition. When A is mahram to B, B is definitely mahram to A.

Definition

The term mahram may be defined as a person who it would be incestuous to have sex with. However, this contradicts current usage of the term. For instance:

1. one's spouse and people of the same sex are also considered as mahrams;
2. though the sister of a man's wife is not his mahram, he cannot marry her unless his wife dies or divorces;
3. a woman cannot marry a non-Muslim close relative though he is not mahram to her.

Formally, mahram only means kin of the opposite sex that one cannot marry. This actually does not include one's spouse and people of the same sex. But since the great part of those with whom hijab is not obligatory (not including people of same sex) are mahrams, a shift in meaning has occurred. Therefore, taking into account the current usage of the word, mahram can alternatively be defined as the set of all people with whom the practice of hijab in their presence is reduced to genitals (except for one's spouse). In fact, this is formally a consequence of being mahram.

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.

1. husband
2. permanent or blood mahrams with whom you become mahram by a blood relationship:
   1. father, grandfather, great-grandfather and so on;
   2. brother;
   3. son, grandson, great-grandson;
   4. uncle, parents' uncle, grandparents' uncle and so on;
   5. nephew, grandnephew, great-grandnephew and so on;
3. in-law mahrams with whom you become mahram by marrying someone:
   1. father-in-law;
   2. son-in-law;
   3. step-father (mother's husband) if their marriage is consummated;
   4. step-son (husband's son) if her marriage is consummated;
4. 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.

Some rules regarding mahrams and non-mahrams

• Theoretically, a woman's Mahrams form the group of allowable escorts for a Muslim woman when she travels.
• An adopted-brother (adopted-sister) of a woman (man) is not mahram to her (him) and they can marry each other. The term adopted means those children who are adopted by one's parents for the purpose of providing shelter and upbringing and who do not fall under the relationships outlined under the paragraph Who is Mahram? (see above).
• Except for the spouse, being mahram is a permanent condition. That means, for example, a man will remain mahram to his ex-mother-in-law after divorcing her daughter. One is not mahram to his/her ex-spouse.
• One must not stay with a non-mahram in seclusion where none of their mahrams is present (see also proxemics).
• A radha' sister (brother) is only mahram to the boy (girl) that her (his) mother has breast fed. That means she (he) is not mahram to his (her) other brothers (sisters) unless the mother has fed them separately.
• If wives of a man each become a radha' mother of a child, all children and all radha' mothers will be mahram to each other.