what do you imagine will be the case when their third companion is Satan? We can only assume that the two of them will become an easy target for temptation—may Allah protect us.

The author then cites the Almighty’s words, “And when you ask them for any article, ask them from behind a screen” (33:53), meaning: do not go in to them; rather, make your request from behind a curtain so that no seclusion takes place.

Next he recalls the ḥadith of ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Beware of entering upon women,” that is, I strongly warn you against going in to them. This is a most emphatic caution. They asked, “Messenger of Allah, what about the in-law (al-ḥamw)?” He replied, “The in-law is death.”

The word ḥamw refers to the husband’s relatives—his brother, his paternal uncle, or his maternal uncle. The husband’s father or his son, however, are maḥrams, whereas these collateral relatives are not. The Prophet’s declaration, “The in-law is death,” is among the strongest forms of warning: just as one flees from death, one must flee from allowing such relatives to enter upon one’s wife and family without a maḥram present. This displays the severity of the prohibition.

Indeed, the entry of the husband’s relatives into the marital home is even more dangerous than the entry of outsiders, for these relatives arrive under the guise of family and no one thinks to object; should they knock and seek permission, no one rebukes them. For that reason it is unlawful for a man to enable his brother to be alone with his wife.

Yet some people are lax in this matter: a man may have a wife and an adult brother, then leave for work and abandon the two of them in the house together. This is prohibited, for Satan flows through the son of Adam like blood. How, then, can one find a way out? (The author will address this next.)