Cousins are not Mahaarim Fatwa No: 120990
- Fatwa Date:29-4-2009
my mother's sister married my father's brother. so, is their male children mahram to me, or is it not?
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
The children of a maternal uncle and maternal aunt and the children of a paternal uncle and paternal aunt are not Mahaarim (plural of Mahram: i.e. a husband or a person whom one is permanently prohibited from marrying due to suckling, marital, or blood relations) for a woman unless there is another thing which necessitates being her Mahram, like breastfeeding and the like. Therefore, the marriage of a paternal uncle with a maternal aunt does not affect by itself being a Mahram.
For more benefit on Mahaarim in Islam, please refer to Fatwa 85868.
Allaah Knows best.