(Q & A) A Daughter is a Mahram to Her Stepfather, But...

Question:

"Bismillah. Ustadz, regarding a stepfather and his stepdaughter, are they also mahram?"

Answer:

This depends and comes with a caveat. Based on the word of Allah:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِكُمْ وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللَّاتِي دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِكُمْ وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا

"Prohibited to you [for marriage] are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters, your mother's sisters, your brother's daughters, your sister's daughters, your [milk] mothers who nursed you, your sisters through nursing, your wives' mothers, and your stepdaughters who are under your guardianship [born] of your wives with whom you have consummated marriage. But if you have not consummated marriage with them (and you divorce them), then there is no blame upon you. And [also prohibited are] the wives of your sons who are from your [actual] loins, and that you take [in marriage] two sisters simultaneously, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful." (QS. An-Nisā: 23).

This verse clearly stipulates that there must have been consummation (dukhūl or sexual intercourse) between the stepfather and the girl's mother after the marriage. If consummation has not occurred, the stepdaughter is not yet a mahram. If the stepfather divorces the mother before consummating the marriage or if the mother dies before consummation, the girl remains not a mahram to her stepfather and he may still marry her. This means the stepdaughter becomes a permanent mahram to her stepfather only if the mother has been consummated with by the stepfather. If not, she is not a mahram, even if the stepfather has completed the marriage contract with the mother.

The majority of the early scholars (salaf) and the agreed-upon position of the four madhhabs is that the stepdaughter becomes a mahram to the stepfather once the marriage with the mother has been consummated, regardless of whether the girl was under his guardianship or not, as reported by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsīr (II/251). This is supported by the Hadith where the Prophet was asked by his wife Umm Salamah about marrying her daughter, Durrah bint Abī Salamah:

إِنَّا قَدْ تَحَدَّثْنَا أَنَّكَ نَاكِحٌ دُرَّةَ بِنْتَ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "أَعَلَى أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ؟ لَوْ لَمْ أَنْكِحْ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ مَا حَلَّتْ لِي، إِنَّ أَبَاهَا أَخِي مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ"

"We heard that you are going to marry Durrah bint Abī Salamah." Rasulullah replied, "Is it as a co-wife (madu) to Umm Salamah? Even if I had not married Umm Salamah, she would still not be lawful for me, for her father is my brother through fosterage." (HR. Al-Bukhari: 5123 from Zaynab binti Abī Salamah). The Prophet's reply indicates that the mother's marriage (and likely its consummation, given the context of the ruling) is a primary factor in the prohibition, while in Durrah's case, an additional permanent prohibition (fosterage) existed.

A different opinion, held by Ibn Ḥazm Adz-Dhāhirī and the Ẓāhirī school, suggests that a stepdaughter who is not under the stepfather's guardianship does not become a mahram to him, even if the marriage to her mother has been consummated. This view is supported by a report (athar) from ‘Alī bin Abī Ṭālib. Mālik bin Aws bin al-Ḥadathān had lost his wife and asked ‘Alī about marrying his stepdaughter:

فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ، "لَهَا ابْنَةٌ" قُلْتُ، "نَعَمْ، وَهِيَ بِالطَّائِفِ." قَالَ، "كَانَتْ فِي حِجْرِكَ؟" قُلْتُ، "لَا، هِيَ بِالطَّائِفِ." قَالَ "فَانْكِحْهَا!" قُلْتُ، "فَأَيْنَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى "وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ" (النساء: 23)، قَالَ "إِنَّهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ فِي حِجْرِكَ، إِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ إِذَا كَانَتْ فِي حِجْرِكَ"

‘Alī asked, "Does she have a daughter?" I (Mālik bin Aws) replied, "Yes, and she is in Ta’if." ‘Alī asked, "Was she under your guardianship (fī ḥijrik – lit. in your lap)?" I said, "No, she is in Ta’if." ‘Alī then said, "Marry her!" I responded, "Then what about the word of Allah 'and your stepdaughters who are under your guardianship...?'" (QS. An-Nisā: 23). ‘Alī replied, "She was not under your guardianship. That [prohibition] is only when she is under your guardianship." (AR. Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 5087).

The correct view (aṣ-ṣaḥīḥ) is the position of the majority of the early scholars and the four madhhabs: the stepdaughter becomes a permanent mahram to her stepfather if, and only if, the stepfather has consummated the marriage with her mother, regardless of whether the daughter was raised under his guardianship or not. This aligns with the overall spirit of the Sunnah.

Wallahu a’lam (And Allah knows best).