The Islamic Ruling on Marriage with a Stepdaughter (Rabibah) in Light of Qur’an and Consensus
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question
What is the ruling on marrying a stepdaughter (Rabibah)?
❖ Answer
Rabibah refers to the girl who is from the wife’s previous husband. In our culture, she is called a stepdaughter.
- If marital relations (dakhul) have been established with the mother, then it is never permissible to marry the stepdaughter.
- However, if marital relations were not established with the mother, then after her death or divorce, marriage with the stepdaughter is permissible.
❀ Allah Almighty has said:
﴿وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللَّاتِي دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ﴾
(An-Nisa: 23)
“And the stepdaughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in – but there is no blame upon you if you have not gone in to them.”
❀ Ḥafiz Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (رحمه الله, 463H) said:
أجمعت الأمة أن الرجل إذا تزوج امرأة ولها ابنة أنه لا تحل له الابنة بعد موت الأم أو فراقها إن كان دخل بها وإن كان لم يدخل بالأم حتى فارقها حل له نكاح الربيبة.
“The Ummah has reached consensus that if a man marries a woman who has a daughter (from a previous husband), then if he has consummated the marriage with the mother, it is not permissible for him to marry the daughter after the mother’s death or divorce. However, if he has not consummated the marriage with the mother, then after separation from the mother, it is permissible to marry the stepdaughter.”
(Al-Istidhkar, 5/457)
