Issue 1170: Matrimonial relation is forbidden with women who are considered one’s Mahram, for instance, mother, sister, and mother-in-law.

Issue 1171: If a man marries a woman, then, her mother, her maternal grandmother, her paternal grand mother, and all ascendants along these lines are his Mahram, even if he has not had sexual intercourse with his wife after their marriage.

Issue 1172: If a man marries a woman, and has sexual intercourse with her, the daughters and granddaughters (daughters of sons or of daughters) of the wife and all their descendants become his Mahram, whether they exist at the time of marriage or be born later.

Issue 1173: If a man marries a woman, he can not marry her daughter as long as they are married, even if he does not have sexual intercourse with her.

Issue 1174: The paternal and maternal aunts of a man, the paternal and maternal aunts of his father, the paternal and maternal aunts of his paternal grandfather, the paternal and maternal aunts of his mother, the paternal and maternal aunts of his maternal grandmother, and so forth as the line ascends, are all his Mahram.

Issue 1175: The husband’s father and grandfather and all his ascendants along this line and the husband’s sons and grandsons and all descendants along this line are the wife’s Mahram, whether they exist at the time of marriage or be born later.

Issue 1176: Whether it is a permanent or a temporary marriage, as long as a man and a woman are married, the man can not marry the wife’s sister (i.e. sister-in-law).

Issue 1177: If a man divorces his wife (within the rules governing divorce, explained later), he can not marry her sister during the Iddah, if it is the case of a revocable divorce. In the case of an irrevocable divorce, the recommended precaution is that one should not marry the sister of the wife during Iddah.

Issue 1178: It is not permissible for a man to marry his wife’s niece without his wife’s permission, and if he does so, and later his wife consents to it, it will be in order.

Issue 1179: If the wife learns that her husband has married her niece and remains silent, but later does not consent to that marriage, the marriage contract will be void. Even if her silence on the subject is taken as her consent to it, it will be an obligatory precaution for the husband to divorce her niece, unless she consents.

Issue 1180: If before marrying his aunt’s daughter, a man commits incest with her mother, he will not be allowed to marry her any more.

Issue 1181: If a man marries his aunt’s daughter and before having sexual intercourse with her, he commits incest with her mother; their marriage contract will not be void.

Issue 1182: If a man commits fornication with a woman other than his aunt, as a precaution, he should not marry her daughter; although it is permissible. If a man marries a woman and has sexual intercourse with her, and later fornicates her mother, the woman will not be illegal for him, and so will the case be if before having sexual intercourse with his wife, a man commits fornication with her mother; however, in the latter case, it is a recommended precaution for the man to divorce his wife.

Issue 1183: If a man commits fornication with a woman who is in the Iddah of a temporary marriage, an irrevocable divorce, or her previous husband’s death, he will be allowed to marry her later, although it is a recommended precaution not to marry her; also if a man commits fornication with a woman who is married or in the Iddah of a revocable divorce, she will not be illegal for him, especially if the man did not know about her being in the Iddah at the time of fornication.

Issue 1184: If a man marries a woman despite knowing that she is already married to another man, they must separate and he can not marry her later if they have had sexual intercourse.

Issue 1185: If a married woman commits adultery, she will not be illegal for her husband, and if she does not repent of her sin, and persists in her action, it will be better for the husband to divorce her; however, he must pay her marriage portion.

Issue 1186: If a divorced woman or a woman whose period of temporary marriage has ended or who has been dispensed with the remaining term of a temporary marriage marries a man after some time and later she doubts whether the Iddah for her first husband had ended at the time of her second marriage, she should ignore her doubt.

Issue 1187: If a man commits sodomy with an immature boy, the boy’s mother, sister and daughter will be illegal for the man, and so is the case if they are both adult, as a precaution; but if one suspects or doubts whether penetration occurred or not, or whether the subject or the object was adult, the mother, sister and daughter of the object of sodomy will not be illegal for the subject, and if the subject does not know that committing such a sin will lead to the illegality of those women for him, they will not be illegal for him.

Issue 1188: If a man marries the mother, or sister, or daughter of a man, and after getting married, commits sodomy with him, they will not become illegal for him.

Q1189: Is it permissible for a man to marry his wife’s sister if his wife is ill and gives the permission?

A: It is illegal, and against the explicit wording of the Holy Quran and contrary to the necessary premises of Islamic laws.

Q1190: A girl marries a man and after a month she learns that her husband is one of the Deifiers of Ali? Is their marriage contract valid? What is the verdict on the rest of their married life?

A: It is permissible to marry those who believe in different Islamic sects, who confess the testimony (Shahadatayn) of Islam, whose slaughtered animals are legal, and who are considered pure, since the criterion for the applicability of these rules is just to confess the Islamic testimony, and that will suffice, and if one doubts their beliefs, this does not mean that they are not accounted as Muslims, and it is neither necessary nor, in some cases, favorable to put their beliefs to inquisition.

Q1191: For the mere purpose of becoming Mahram to a girl (i.e. not for having sexual intercourse), a man enters into a temporary marriage with her. After the expiry of the marriage period, a son of that man decides to marry the same girl. Regarding the fact that the father’s temporary marriage to the girl has merely been for the purpose of becoming Mahram to her, is it permissible for the son to marry the girl?

A: It is not permissible for the sons of the man to marry the girl and she becomes illegal for them for ever, since she is considered their stepmother; this illegality applies to all kinds of marriage such as permanent or temporary, consummated or unconsummated, and this can be derived from the noble Quranic verse, “and do not marry any of the women whom your fathers had married” (Nisaa’: 22).

Q1192: Is one’s stepmother considered Mahram to them? What about the mother of one’s step mother?

A: One’s stepmother is considered their Mahram, but this is not the case with the mother of their stepmother.

Q1193: After divorcing my first husband, I married another man within the Iddah of divorce. Because of some illness, I had a portion of my uterus excised, and I can never bear children any more; but I still have my periods. I married the second man without waiting for Iddah to end regarding the above facts. We have entered into a temporary marriage for a 99-year period. Is it permissible for me to enter into a permanent marriage with this man after the Iddah for my previous husband ends?

A: Getting married while being in Iddah will not cause a woman to become permanently illegal for a man if it is due to ignorance about the issue, even if they have had sexual intercourse; and it should be said that a 99-year temporary marriage is void per se; therefore, as a precaution, she should keep the Iddah for her first husband to the end before marrying a second man.

Q1194: Will that suffice for marrying a woman if she says that she is not married to or in relationship with another man, or should we investigate the truth of her claim?

A: Her oral statement will suffice.

Q1195: A family has adopted a boy from the Life Improvement Organization; but they did not do anything to make the boy Mahram to his adoptive mother at the time of adoption. Now that the boy is six or seven years old, is it possible to make the boy Mahram to his adoptive mother?

A: If they do not have a girl, there is no such way as to make the boy Mahram to his adoptive mother if they are older than the age of suckling; but since such acts are among good and benevolent deeds particularly towards orphans and helpless children, and are recommended desirable thing which deserve heavenly remunerations and beatitude, and because of the hardships in fostering and upbringing such children due to not being their Mahram suffered by their adoptive mothers, and to prevent other problems and difficulties such as telling the child about their being an adoptive child etc, the boy will be Mahram to his adoptive mother; hardship, distress, and constriction remove illegalities and we must know that Islam is an easy faith.