The Law of Forbidden

In our series of articles relating to the Fiqh of Nikah, we mentioned in the last part how a Muslim must ensure that he/she does not propose a person who is forbidden for him/her to marry. Firstly, a happy Nikah is the one that is free from any kind of coercion, either mental or physical. By this, we mean that Nikah should be fulfilled only after the willingness of the bride and the groom. Any Nikah which is performed without the consent of a partner will have drastic results.

Now, the Qur’an has special mentions of certain kinds of women who are forbidden from marriage. We will discuss this law by explaining what kind of women is forbidden and who are forbidden permanently or temporarily.

Women who are forbidden from marriage permanently.

• Women connected with a man through biological relations. (Qur’an 4:23)
• Women who are already committed to someone else under marital ties. (Qur’an 4:23)
• Women forbidden due to suckling which means that they are still the unweaned child.
• A wife of yours who has taken Khulah can never be remarried to the same man.

Women who are forbidden from marriage temporarily.

• Although polygamy in Islam is permitted but a man is not allowed to keep more tahn four women as his wives. So, a man is forbidden from marrying any more women.
• A wife under Iddah is forbidden from re-marrying until the completion of her Iddah period.
• The wife whom you have divorced permanently meaning, you have divorced her three times. You cannot marry the same woman until she marries another man and divorces him.
• A woman who has weak Deen and there is complete absence of Islam.
• A woman who practices Zina. However, if she repents truly, the situations can be turned around.

Thus, we got some deeper insights into the law of forbidden. Such knowledge is important to be pondered upon as well as to be shared with others.