brother-in-law

[Wajiha]

Assalam Aleikum MV.  My question is, can a woman marry her husband’s brother after divorcing her husband.  Is it allowed in Quran?  Or are there any snags for the purpose of making relationships embarrassing within families?

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Walaikum As Salaam.  Yes she can marry him after divorcing her husband and completing the period of iddah which is 3 menstrual cycles.  After that she is free to re-marry anyone she wishes including her brother-in-law.  The only person she cannot marry is her ex-husband … unless her second marriage also breaks up genuinely, not  a pre-planned breakup for the purpose of remarrying her first husband. 

[Wajiha]

Thankx.    A sister friend of mine was recently divorced after 6 yrs of marriage and one child 4 yrs old. She fell in love with her brother-in-law (husband’s younger brother) and when husband found out he immediately divorced her with half mehr money.  She’s back to her parents’ home with her child.  But she and the brother-in-law are still in love and want to get married.  Her ex husband’s parents and other siblings are very angry with her for betraying her husband and view her as cause of creating ill-will between her husband and his younger brother.  They don’t like her and don’t want to meet her.  So, she wants to know if her marriage with her brother-in-law would have any prohibitions from the Quranic perspective concerning spoiling family relations.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

I see .. well no, from Quranic perspective I don’t see any prohibitions at all as long as she completes the period of iddah.  Just as a man can marry his wife’s sister if he divorces his wife or if the wife dies, similarly a woman can also marry her husband’s brother.  The only difference is that the woman has to wait to complete the iddah. 

As far as family relations of annoyance and anger are concerned regarding betrayal etc., those are personal issues.  Of course, if people of the family behave unjustly with each other because of their personal animosity or annoyance, then such unjust behavior will certainly not be appreciated by Allah.  But the act of re-marriage itself in such a case between a woman and her brother-in-law is definitely not Haram.  It is Halal.

[Wajiha]

Three menstrual cycles are same as three months, right?

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Approximately but not exactly.  Menstrual cycle is the time between the first day of one period to the first day of the next.  Average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days.  However that length can vary in different women.  With some it can be shorter, around 21 days.  With others it can be longer like up to 35 days.  But the average or standard length is 28 days.  Therefore three menstrual cycles would be 28 x 3 = 84 days.  Three months would be 30 x 3 = 90 days.  But in my opinion, for Iddah, 3 menstrual cycles and 3 months can be interchangeable.  Instead of 84 days, if one observes Iddah for 90 days, it won't harm nor be misleading in any way.  It's still within the framework of Allah's Commandment of three monthly cycles. But one needs to make sure it is not less than 84 days for then one would be violating the Divine Commandment in Verse 2:228 on three monthly cycles. "Women who are divorced shall wait, keeping themselves apart, three (monthly) courses." 2:228 Al-Baqrah.

[Wajiha]

JazekAllah  sister.  May Allah reward you for the very good and rational answers.

[Khadem Khan]

But the fact that she has an affair with her brother-in-law while still married to his older brother is certainly an act of Haram, so there's nothing really Halal to talk about in this.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Yes, but with divorce following up, that Haram episode is over.  And the level of Haram also depends whether or not there was any physical intimacy during the time.  Since those details are only known to Allah about the persons involved, therefore we won't judge.  The issue as it stands now to our understanding is that both persons involved in the affair are presently single and their relationship as man and woman is Halal for marriage.

[Zainab_M]

@ TS ..  exactly, very correct.