Navigating Marriage Restrictions: Temporary Impediments in Islam

There are many temporary impediments to marriage.

Marriage is temporarily prohibited but may become possible again after the problem has been resolved.

Here are a few major examples.

A married woman cannot get remarried until she gets a divorce or her husband dies.          

1 – A muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man (Quran 60:10)

2 – A Muslim man cannot marry a non-Muslim woman unless she is one of the people of the book (Christian or Jewish) (Quran 2:221, 5:5)

3 – An apostate, whether man or woman, is someone who has rejected the Muslim religion. This type of person cannot marry a Muslim

Iddah, or waiting period, is a time during which a woman who has been divorced, repudiated or widowed cannot get remarried or have sexual relations.

At the end of her iddah, her marriage is permanently dissolved and the wife is free again to choose another husband if she wishes.

Marriage is strictly forbidden throughout the entire waiting period.

Read more – Understanding Iddah: The Islamic Waiting Period After Marriage Ends

The Quran says that a husband may have a maximum of four wives at one time (Quran 4:3).

He may not marry a fifth until after the death or repudiation of one of his first four wives.

Being married to four wives at once is a temporary impediment to marrying a fifth.

It is prohibited for a man to marry his wife’s ascendants from the time of the wedding. It is also prohibited for him to marry his wife’s descendants after consummation of the marriage regardless of the degree of kinship.

In a polygamous marriage, the Quran prohibits a man from marrying two sisters. This prohibition was extended to aunts and nieces by several hadiths (Quran 4:24).

Therefore, it is not possible to marry two sisters or an aunt and a niece at the same time.

This prohibition is temporary since it is possible for the man to marry his wife’s relative if the first marriage is dissolved by death, repudiation or annulment.

Conversely, a man may marry two women who are first cousins since a male first cousin can marry his female first cousin.

The Quran teaches (Quran 2:230) that a wife who has been permanently repudiated (bayn), in other words by triple repudiation, cannot remarry her previous husband. But this is only a temporary impediment and can be removed.

In this case, it will be necessary for the wife first to complete a waiting period (iddah), then she must marry another man, and lastly, this second marriage must be dissolved (Quran 2:230). Her marriage to another man must not be a fake marriage. In other words, the marriage must actually be consummated.

• According to the Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools, a state of sacralization (ihram) before a pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) prohibits both men and women from getting married. These schools specify that one may not perform the function of legal representative in a marriage (wali) while in a state of sacralization either.

For the Hanafi school, a marriage entered into under these circumstances is valid.

• The Maliki school believes that when a future husband is ill and may die due to his condition, the marriage is not valid.

For the other schools, a marriage entered into under these circumstances is valid.