Sheltering a Niece Turned out of Her Home for Immorality

Question

I have a niece, my sister’s daughter; her mother has died. Her father is an unworthy man. Her brother turned her out of the house because an illegitimate child is going to be born to her. She had no one to look after her, so I married her off. But after a year her husband divorced her (talaq), and after that she was not married off elsewhere. We were thinking where we might now find a match for her so that her life could be set right. Two years have passed since the divorce.

Answer

If she is at present neither in anyone’s nikah nor in ‘idda, then an effort should be made to marry her off in some suitable place, paying no heed to anyone’s displeasure. Until the nikah takes place, you may keep her in your home: she is your niece, and you are her mahram. What fault is it of a child born in the wrong way?

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.