Is marriage among close relatives objectionable in Islam?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Quran, our lofty book, states the women relatives that a man cannot marry. They are close relatives like sisters and aunts. Islam allows a man to marry his cousins; that is, the daughters of his uncles and aunts. Our Prophet used this permission for himself and his relatives. As it is known, Zaynab bint Jahsh, one of the Prophet’s wives, was the daughter of his aunt. Besides, Hazrat Fatima, his daughter, married Hazrat Ali, the daughter of her uncle.     

There exists a permission to marry cousins in our religion but we see that marriage between cousins is not recommended in some hadiths due to some hereditary and medical drawbacks.

While listing the qualities to be sought in spouses to marry in accordance with the sunnah, Imam Ghazali states that one should not marry his cousin. He quotes the following hadith: "Do not marry a woman who is a close relative of yours because your child will be weak and puny. "(1) 

When this drawback is taken into consideration, marrying a close relative is not recommended. The following hadith attracts attention to that issue: "Marry people who are not your relatives; do not marry your close relatives "(2)

Another important disadvantage about marrying a close relative is this; when there is a conflict between the spouses, the relations among the relatives that need to be maintained start to weaken. Daylami, one of the hadith imams, says that marrying close relatives will cause the relations among relatives to break.   

It will be very useful to check blood incompatibility before marriage especially before marriage with a close relative as a medical precaution.

As we have mentioned before, there is nothing prohibiting marriage with close relatives in Islam in principle. The medical risks that are mentioned are not certain. However, disabilities and similar diseases are observed more in marriages between close relatives in comparison to marriages between people who are not relatives.

1. Tarbiyatu'l-Awlad, 1: 39; Ihya, 2: 42.

2. Qadi Baydawi. Gâyetü'l-Gusâ, 2: 721.

Kaynak : Mehmet Paksu, Kadın, Aile, Hayat, Nesil Yayınları

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