What Is the Difference Between a Real Sister and Female Cousins?

Question

Marriage with the daughters of one’s paternal aunt, maternal uncle and maternal aunt is valid in the eyes of Islam, but a certain non-Muslim Hindu regards it as bad and says that she is just like one’s own sister’s daughter: Islam declares marriage with her valid and considers it permissible, whereas no religion considers marriage with one’s own sister’s daughter valid — rather, it considers it bad. Therefore, let the answer to this objection be given from reason rather than from transmitted texts (naql)

Answer

The principled answer remains the same: permission for such a nikah is found in the books of fiqh, and the books of hadith record proof of such a nikah in the era of the best generations (khayr al-qurun). In the Noble Qur’an, in Surah al-Ahzab, where the women whom the Prophet ﷺ was permitted to marry are named: [ar]يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِنَّآ أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ[/ar] “O…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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