I say, and with God's success: This issue has been mixed up and confused, requiring clarification and correction to the extent that I wanted to dedicate a special article to it for the sake of clarity. To achieve the intended purpose, we will answer two questions, which are: 1. Is there a prohibition in the texts of the great Sharia regarding marriage between relatives? 2. Do the honorable jurists, despite their differing jurisprudential schools, state a dislike for marrying a close relative? The answer to each of them is as follows: First: The texts of Sharia regarding marriage with a close relative, which include the following: First: Texts prohibiting marriage between relatives: Some jurists have cited phrases from hadiths in their books that prohibit marriage between relatives, using them as evidence for their claims. However, it is known that every science and art is taken from its people; just as jurisprudence is not taken from the books of hadith and interpretation, likewise, hadith should not be taken from jurisprudential writings. This necessitates our return to the various hadith compilations or the books of hadith verification that have focused on verifying the hadiths of jurisprudential books to review the status of these hadiths and their authenticity from the Prophet (peace be upon him). These hadiths are: 1. (Do not marry close relatives, for it leads to weakness in the offspring), as found in Talqih al-Habeer: 3: 304, or in the wording: (Do not marry close relatives, for the child will be born weak) as in Talqih al-Habeer: 3: 304, or in the wording: (Marry outside your kin, lest you weaken) as in Talqih al-Habeer: 3: 304, and Jawahir al-Akhbar: 84. This wording has been attributed to the strange hadith of Ibn Qutaybah, and the meaning of "weak" (ضَوِيّ) is explained by Al-Fayoumi in Al-Misbah Al-Munir, p. 366: "The child becomes weak if his body is small and emaciated, so he is weak and emaciated, and the original form is on the pattern of فاعول, and the female is ضاوية, and I have weakened it." Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani mentioned in Talqih al-Habeer 3: 304, Ibn Al-Mulaqqin in Khulasat Al-Badr 2: 179, Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami in Tuhfat Al-Muhtaj 7: 189, Al-Ramli in Nihayat Al-Muhtaj 6: 185, Al-Sharbini in Mughni Al-Muhtaj 4: 206-207, and others the statement of Ibn Al-Salah regarding it: "I did not find a reliable source for it." They agreed with him on this. Al-Taj Al-Subki stated in the verification of the hadiths of Ihya Ulum Al-Din 2: 972: "I did not find a chain of narration for it." Thus, the scholars and others agree that these phrases of this hadith are fabricated and there is no basis for using them as evidence. 2. (The one who marries among his people is like one who plants grass in his house) in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 1: 114, and Al-Firdaws 4: 313. This hadith is one of the hadiths from the narration of Sulayman ibn Ayyub from his father from his grandfather from Musa ibn Talha from his father from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Ibn Adi mentioned in Al-Kamil 3: 284: "Most of these hadiths are unique to this chain of narration, and no one supports Sulayman on them." Yaqoub ibn Shaybah said: "These hadiths are authentic in my opinion" [Misbah Al-Zujaj 4: 36]. Al-Iraqi favored them, and Al-Diya Al-Maqdisi in Al-Mukhtarah 3: 21, as mentioned in the verification of the hadiths of Ihya 2: 971-972. Al-Dhahabi stated in Al-Mizan 3: 281 and Al-Mughni p. 277: "About Sulayman: He is a companion of strange narrations, though he was trusted, as Al-Fadl ibn Sakin Al-Sindi confirmed him, as in Al-Ahadith Al-Mukhtarah 3: 21, and Al-Kamil by Ibn Adi 3: 284." Ibn Hajar mentioned in Al-Lisan 3: 77: "Ibn Abi Hatim did not mention any criticism of him, and Ibn Hibban included him among the trustworthy." As for other hadiths that might be used as evidence, such as the hadith (Choose for your offspring, for the lineage is a hidden matter), and the hadith (Beware of the green of the dung), there is no indication in them regarding marriage between close or distant relatives. Nevertheless, the scholars have ruled that they are not established from the Messenger (peace be upon him), and Imam Al-Kawthari elaborated on this matter in detail in two of his articles, pp. 130-141. Second: Texts permitting marriage between relatives: 1. His (peace be upon him) saying: {So when Zayd had fulfilled his desire from her, We married her to you, so that there would be no hardship on the believers in the wives of their adopted sons when they have fulfilled their desire from them, and the command of Allah is a decree that must be carried out} [Al-Ahzab: 37]. This verse was about the Prophet's (peace be upon him) marriage to Zainab bint Jahsh, as mentioned in the interpretation of Al-Tabari 22: 14, and the interpretation of Al-Qurtubi 14: 193. She is the daughter of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) aunt. Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak 4: 24 from Mus'ab ibn Abdullah Al-Zubairi who said: (Zainab bint Jahsh ibn Raba' ibn Yamur ibn Sabra ibn Murrah ibn Kathir ibn Ghanm ibn Dudan ibn Asad ibn Khuzaymah, and her mother is Umaymah bint Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Amr ibn Abd Manaf. Zainab was married to Zayd ibn Harithah, and he divorced her, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married her. In her case, the verse {So when Zayd had fulfilled his desire from her, We married her to you} was revealed. She would boast to the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying: "Allah married me to His Messenger while your fathers and relatives married you" in Sunan Al-Tirmidhi 5: 354, which he authenticated, and in Musnad Abu Awanah 3: 56, and Sunan Al-Nasa'i 4: 417. However, it can be said that this verse is not a text on the issue; it is to clarify the permissibility of marrying the wife of an adopted son. This statement, although correct, does not prevent deriving other rulings from it, especially in our issue, as it explicitly permits marriage with close relatives such as the daughter of an aunt. 2. The marriage of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) to Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), who is his cousin, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Ali are sons of paternal uncles. It can be said that the preferred marriage is that of a close relative such as the daughter of an uncle or aunt, while distant relatives are not the same. The hadith does not address marriage between close relatives. 3. The marriage of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to his daughter Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her) to Abu Al-As ibn Al-Rabi' ibn Abd Al-Uzza ibn Abd Shams before the prophethood, who is the son of her maternal aunt Hala bint Khuwailid, and then he was returned to her after his conversion to Islam with a new marriage, as mentioned in Al-Mustadrak 3: 741, 4: 50, and in Sirat A'lam Al-Nubala 1: 330-335, and in Majma' Al-Zawa'id 9: 212-216, and in Sunan Al-Bayhaqi Al-Kabir 7: 187, and in Sunan Al-Daraqutni 3: 253, and in Sunan Ibn Majah 1: 647. It can be said regarding this that this marriage took place in the pre-Islamic era, and the action of the Messenger was a confirmation of it due to the consequences that arose from it, such as children and the bond between the spouses, which is undoubtedly greater and more significant than what might be imagined from this interest. From this presentation of the legal texts, we conclude that there is no text that specifies or restricts the general permissibility in the verses of the Holy Quran regarding marriage with close relatives, as in His saying (peace be upon him): {Prohibited to you are your mothers and your daughters and your sisters and your paternal aunts and your maternal aunts and the daughters of your brother and the daughters of your sister} [An-Nisa: 23]. How could it be, when there is a specific Quranic text permitting and making lawful marriage with close relatives, as He (peace be upon him) said: {O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you the wives whom you have given their due and those whom your right hand possesses of what Allah has granted you, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who migrated with you} [Al-Ahzab: 50]. This Quranic generality has been confirmed by the actions of the Messenger (peace be upon him), as mentioned in the texts of permissibility, despite the interpretations and claims that contradict the apparent meaning of them. Thus, what has been found in the prohibition does not counter this clarity in the permissibility mentioned in the Holy Quran and the application of the chosen one (peace be upon him) to it; because it is in words that are not established from the noble presence, or in a hadith that has significant differences in its authenticity, as previously mentioned. The utmost that can be inferred from this is that it is not recommended to excessively marry relatives to the extent that they do not marry others or marry from others, and this is supported by what Ibrahim Al-Harbi narrated in Gharib Al-Hadith from Abdullah ibn Al-Mu'mil from Ibn Abi Malika who said: Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the family of Al-Sa'ib: "You have become weak, so marry from the distinguished." Al-Harbi said: "Meaning marry outsiders" [as in Talqih al-Habeer 3: 304, and Jawahir Al-Akhbar p. 84]; it is inferred that the family of Al-Sa'ib were limited to marrying relatives until their offspring weakened, so Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered them to marry from outsiders to strengthen them. Second: The opinion of the jurists on marrying a close relative: Ibn Yunus narrated in Tarikh Al-Ghurabaa in the biography of Al-Shafi'i from a shaykh of his from Al-Muzani, from Al-Shafi'i who said: "Any household whose women do not marry men from outside will have foolishness among their children" as in Jawahir Al-Akhbar p. 84, and Mughni Al-Muhtaj 4: 206, and Sharh Minhaj Al-Tullab 4: 119. Perhaps the basis of Al-Shafi'i's (may Allah be pleased with him) statement is due to what the Arabs used to claim that the child born from a close relative is weak due to the shyness of the couple, but he comes with the nature of his people in generosity, as in Al-Misbah Al-Munir p. 366. Therefore, we find that the Shafi'i jurists, as in Tuhfat Al-Muhtaj 7: 189, and Fatawa Al-Haytami 4: 98, and Al-Muhalli 3: 208, and Nihayat Al-Muhtaj 6: 185, and Hashiyat Al-Jamal 4: 119, and Hashiyat Al-Bijirmi 3: 364, and Fayd Al-Qadir 2: 215, and Al-Anwar Al-Qudsiyya in personal status p. 5. And some Hanbalis, as in Al-Mughni 7: 83, and the Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia 24: 61-62, and Daqaiq Uli Al-Nahha 2: 623, stated the recommendation of marrying a foreigner and one who is not a close relative, and clarified that the close relatives are those in the first degrees of kinship or unclehood, such as the daughter of a maternal uncle or paternal uncle. The Shafi'i scholars mentioned, as in Al-Muhalli 3: 208, and Sharh Minhaj Al-Tullab 4: 119, and Nihayat Al-Muhtaj 6: 185, and Hashiyat Al-Jamal 4: 119, that distant relatives are preferable to foreigners; for the absence of the rationale in some of the upcoming justifications along with the kinship bond. They interpreted Al-Shafi'i's (may Allah be pleased with him) words as referring to his closest kin, as in Mughni Al-Muhtaj 4: 206-207, and Sharh Minhaj Al-Tullab 4: 119. They relied on this ruling on what has been previously mentioned that is not established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and on other justifications which are: 1. That the weakness of the child, which usually arises from shyness from close relatives, is a clear meaning that serves as a basis for that, as in Tuhfat Al-Muhtaj 7: 189, and Nihayat Al-Muhtaj 6: 185, and Sharh Minhaj Al-Tullab 4: 119. 2. That one of the objectives of marriage is the connection of tribes for the sake of mutual support and cooperation and unity of word, which is absent in marriage between relatives, as in Mughni Al-Muhtaj 4: 206. 3. That the weakness of desire in a close relative leads to a thin child, as in Al-Muhalli 3: 208. 4. That the child of a foreigner is more productive. 5. That one cannot be secure from separation, which leads to severing the kinship bond that one is commanded to maintain, as in Al-Mughni 7: 83, and Daqaiq Uli Al-Nahha 2: 623. However, some Shafi'is disputed this ruling due to its lack of a legal text to rely on, as Al-Subki said: "This ruling should not be established due to the lack of evidence," as in Mughni Al-Muhtaj 4: 206-207. Since the matter regarding what the Shafi'is and Hanbalis have gone to is based on experience, it is appropriate to mention some modern statistics regarding the effects of cousin marriages. In the book of the Medical Examination Symposium: The impact of cousin marriage is often misunderstood, and this deeply rooted social custom in our society is often blamed for the diseases and disabilities of our children. There are known probabilities for giving birth to abnormal formations or genetic diseases in every marriage, that is, in every pregnancy. The probability for marriages between strangers is 2%, meaning that couples who are not relatives have a 98% chance of having healthy children in every pregnancy. However, for cousin marriages among first cousins, the probability of giving birth to abnormal children increases to 4%, meaning they have a 96% chance of having healthier children. The likelihood of genetic diseases increases as the degree of kinship between the spouses increases, and as it is repeated over successive generations in the family, as mentioned on pages 22-23 of the Medical Examination Symposium before marriage from a medical and legal perspective, sponsored by the Al-Iffah Charity Association: Edited by Farouk Badran and Adel Badarnah, 1994. In conclusion, we would like to point out three matters: 1. This statistic removes the great aura given to the discussion of cousin marriage; the difference in percentage between cousin marriage and others is minimal. 2. What is commonly known among people regarding the hadith: (Marry outside your kin) is not established from the Prophet (peace be upon him), and it is known that fabricated hadiths should only be mentioned to alert others to their fabrication; thus, using prophetic hadiths to argue against cousin marriage should not be done for the reasons previously detailed. 3. The Shafi'is and some Hanbalis saw from the reasons mentioned above that it is not recommended to marry close relatives, and they did not elevate this to the level of Sunnah; because recommendation is a lower degree than that; and because what they mentioned as justifications does not indicate Sunnah, so the matter is then between recommendation and its absence only. And we should not forget that those who stated that it is not recommended to marry close relatives specified that marrying a close relative is preferable to marrying a foreigner. And Allah is the Grantor of success.