Is the wife's sister considered a mahram?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The wife's sister is a stranger to her sister's husband; it is not permissible for him to look at her, be in seclusion with her, or shake hands with her. The prohibition mentioned in the Quran is the prohibition of marrying two sisters concurrently, not an absolute prohibition of marrying the wife's sister. She is not permanently forbidden to him. Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked about this and replied that understanding the wife's sister as a temporary is incorrect. Mahrams are those permanently forbidden due to kinship or a permissible cause, and Allah did not mention the wife's sister among the mahrams.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/6181
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 6181
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy