Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Question:

As Salaamu Alaikum,
A sister had a question about mahaarim that is related to Ayah 23 of Surah Nisaa where it mentions the stepfather and the stepdaughter.

(1) If you have adult daughters does the husband you marry after they became adult become a mahram to them?

(2) Does it make a difference if they were minors when you marry their stepfather, and does it make a difference if the minor daughters were under the care of the stepfather or not?

Jazakamullahu Khairun.
Wa Salaam.

Answer:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

As a woman, the husband you marry, who is then the stepfather of your daughters, becomes a Mahram to your daughters even though they are adults. The Mahram relation becomes established as soon as the woman gets married to the man in a sound/correct marriage. It does not make a difference whether the daughters were minors when the woman married their stepfather, and whether he took care of them or not. In all cases, the stepfather will become a Mahram for the woman’s daughters. (Al Jawhara An Nayara Vol. 2 Pg. 109 Qadeemi Kutub Khana Karachi Pakistan).

It should however be noted, that on account of the widespread fitnah and evils, and the high levels of immodesty and immorality that are rampant today, the scholars have advised that the adult daughters and those close to puberty who look mature, should cover their bodies properly in front of the step father, even though he may be a Mahram to them.

And Allah Knows Best.

Mufti Waseem Khan.

12/3/2014.