the Exalted says: “And lawful to you are all beyond these.” [al-Nisa’ 4:24] In another recitation, it is read, “And He has made lawful to you all beyond these,” using the active form. Allah did not mention the mother or daughter of the woman with whom fornication was committed among those women forbidden in marriage. Rather, He says: “And your wives’ mothers, and your stepdaughters under your care, born to wives with whom you have consummated marriage.” [al-Nisa’ 4:23]

It is well known that the woman with whom one has committed fornication is certainly not one of his wives, for his women are his wives. Since she is not one of his wives, illicit sexual intercourse cannot be equated with a valid marriage contract. Thus, if he repents from fornication, it is permissible for him to marry the mother or daughter of the woman with whom he committed fornication. All the more so, it is permissible for him to marry the mother or daughter of the male with whom sodomy was committed.

As for intercourse under a mistaken assumption of legality—such as when a man has intercourse with a woman because of a mistaken contract or belief—is he a mahram to her mother?

The answer, according to the school of law, is no, because the woman with whom intercourse took place under a mistaken assumption of legality was not lawful for him in reality. Thus, the prohibition of her mother or daughter would arise from an impermissible cause.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, held that the mother and daughter of the woman with whom intercourse occurred under a mistaken assumption of legality are among his mahrams, because, when he had intercourse with her, he believed her to be one of the women lawful to him. Therefore, that intercourse entails the same consequences as lawful intercourse.

Accordingly, if a man has intercourse with a woman under a mistaken assumption of legality, her mother becomes permanently forbidden to him and is also one of his mahrams. The same applies to her daughter: she becomes permanently forbidden to him and is one of his mahrams. Thus, the school of law treats the woman with whom fornication was committed and the woman with whom intercourse occurred under a mistaken assumption of legality alike, in that their mothers and daughters are not among the man’s mahrams. The correct view, however, is to distinguish