✅ Please carefully and thoroughly study the multi-part response below!

✅ Answer: Pay attention to the following verses and narrations:

قال اللَّه تعالی : حُرِّمَتْ عَلَیْکُمْ أُمَّهَاتُکُمْ وَبَنَاتُکُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُکُمْ وَعَمَّاتُکُمْ وَخَالَاتُکُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُکُمُ اللَّاتِی أَرْضَعْنَکُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُکُم مِّنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِکُمْ وَرَبَائِبُکُمُ اللَّاتِی فِی حُجُورِکُم مِّن نِّسَائِکُمُ اللَّاتِی دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَإِن لَّمْ تَکُونُوا دَخَلْتُم بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَیْکُمْ وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِکُمُ الَّذِینَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِکُمْ وَأَن تَجْمَعُوا بَیْنَ الْأُخْتَیْنِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ کَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِیمًا (۲۳)

Translation: Forbidden to you are your mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, brothers’ daughters, sisters’ daughters, mothers who nursed you, foster sisters, mothers of your wives, and stepdaughters under your guardianship from wives with whom you have consummated marriage. If you have not consummated the marriage, there is no sin upon you (in marrying their daughters). Also forbidden are the wives of your sons from your loins, and that you combine two sisters in marriage, except what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful!

📖 Surah An-Nisa, Verse 23

1⃣عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ مُصَافَحَةِ الرَّجُلِ الْمَرْأَةَ قَالَ لَا یَحِلُّ لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ یُصَافِحَ الْمَرْأَةَ إِلَّا امْرَأَةً یَحْرُمُ عَلَیْهِ أَنْ یَتَزَوَّجَهَا أُخْتٌ أَوْ بِنْتٌ أَوْ عَمَّةٌ أَوْ خَالَةٌ أَوْ بِنْتُ أُخْتٍ أَوْ نَحْوُهَا وَ أَمَّا الْمَرْأَةُ الَّتِی یَحِلُّ لَهُ أَنْ یَتَزَوَّجَهَا فَلَا یُصَافِحُهَا إِلَّا مِنْ وَرَاءِ الثَّوْبِ وَ لَا یَغْمِزُ کَفَّهَا.

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 525

Sama’ah ibn Mihran says: I asked Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, about a man shaking hands with a woman. The Imam said: It is not permissible for a man to shake hands with a woman unless she is someone forbidden to him in marriage, such as a sister, daughter, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, niece, or the like. But with a woman permissible for him to marry, he should not shake hands unless it is over clothing, and he should not press her palm!

2⃣عَنْ أَبِی أَیُّوبَ الْخَزَّازِ عَنْ أَبِی بَصِیرٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِی عَبْداللَّهِ هَلْ یُصَافِحُ الرَّجُلُ الْمَرْأَةَ لَیْسَتْ بِذِی مَحْرَمٍ فَقَالَ لَا إِلَّا مِنْ وَرَاءِ الثَّوْبِ.

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 525

Abu Basir says: I said to Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him: Can a man shake hands with a woman who is not mahram to him? He said: No! Unless it is over clothing!

✅ Based on Verse 23 of Surah An-Nisa and numerous narrations, there is no doubt that marriage with a mother-in-law is absolutely forbidden for a son-in-law.

✅ However, regarding whether the mother-in-law is mahram in the sense of being permitted to reveal her adornments to the son-in-law, no clear and explicit narrations have reached us.

✅ One of the narrational and Quranic arguments that can be made is as follows: In narrations 1⃣ and 2⃣, it is observed that the criterion for the permissibility of a man shaking hands with a woman is the prohibition of marriage with her, and a woman with whom a man can shake hands without clothing is considered to have mahram status.

On the other hand, being able to touch a woman’s body through a handshake without clothing is an indication of mahram status.

Although the mother-in-law is not explicitly named in narration 1⃣, she is clearly one of the instances of the general principle stated in this narration, as the prohibition of marriage with a mother-in-law is undisputed in the verses and narrations. Consequently, the permissibility of shaking hands with a mother-in-law without clothing is established, and this could be an indication of mahram status in the sense of allowing the revelation of adornments.

✅ If it is argued that there are cases where marriage is forbidden but revealing adornments is not permitted, it can be responded: The principle in narration 1⃣ deems shaking hands permissible with women forbidden in marriage, and we only exclude cases that other narrations specify as exceptions. The rest remain subject to this general principle, and the mother-in-law is one such case.

✅ If the above Quranic-narrational argument is subject to objection or critique, another principle that can be relied upon, provided it is realized, is the following narration:

3⃣مِمَّا أَجَابَ بِهِ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عَلِیُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْعَسْكَرِیُّ علیه السلام فِی رِسَالَتِهِ إِلَی أَهْلِ الْأَهْوَازِ حِینَ سَأَلُوهُ عَنِ الْجَبْرِ وَ التَّفْوِیضِ أَنْ قَالَ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْأُمَّةُ قَاطِبَةً لَا اخْتِلَافَ بَیْنَهُمْ فِی ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ حَقٌّ لَا رَیْبَ فِیهِ عِنْدَ جَمِیعِ فِرَقِهَا فَهُمْ فِی حَالَةِ الِاجْتِمَاعِ عَلَیْهِ مُصِیبُونَ وَ عَلَی تَصْدِیقِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مُهْتَدُونَ لِقَوْلِ النَّبِیِّ صلی اللّٰه علیه و آله لَا تَجْتَمِعُ أُمَّتِی عَلَی ضَلَالَةٍ فَأَخْبَرَ صلی اللّٰه علیه و آله أَنَّ مَا اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَیْهِ الْأُمَّةُ وَ لَمْ یُخَالِفْ بَعْضُهَا بَعْضاً هُوَ الْحَقُّ......

📚 Ihtijaj, Vol. 2, p. 487

Imam Hadi, peace be upon him, wrote in his letter to the people of Ahvaz in response to their question about determinism and free will: The entire Ummah has agreed, with no disagreement among them, that the Quran is the truth, and no sect among them has any doubt about it. Thus, in their consensus on it, they have reached correctness and, in affirming what the Lord has revealed, they have attained guidance. This is due to the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, who said: My Ummah will not unite upon misguidance. Thus, he informed that whatever the Ummah unanimously agrees upon, with no one opposing another, is the truth!

✅ Based on the above narration: If a matter is unanimously agreed upon by the entire Ummah and all its sects, with no one opposing another, it is the truth, and the Islamic Ummah has reached correctness through this consensus.

Thus, if, as claimed, the revelation of adornments by a mother-in-law to her son-in-law is unanimously agreed upon by the entire Islamic Ummah and all its sects, the mahram status of the mother-in-law is established through this consensus.

✅ However, if such a consensus cannot be achieved or is not realized, the ruling permitting a mother-in-law to reveal her adornments to her son-in-law cannot be established through the derived or reported consensus of the scholars of a single era from one sect of the Ummah. This is because the consensus of scholars of one era from one sect has no validity in narrations and is among the incorrect foundations of the sect of mujtahids during the occultation!

✅ In the discussion of washing the body of a deceased woman in a place where no women are available, narrations have been received stating that it should be done by a 'dhu mahram' (one with mahram status) without looking at private parts, which supports the above arguments.

✅ If neither of the two arguments above is deemed acceptable or complete, and no other narrational argument can be derived from existing narrations, the only remaining approach, from the perspective of the jurisprudence of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them all, is to adhere to the narrational principle of pausing in cases of doubt:

4⃣عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ حَنْظَلَةَ عَنْ أَبِی عَبْدِاللَّه فِی حَدِیثٍ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا الْأُمُورُ ثَلَاثَةٌ أَمْرٌ بَيِّنٌ رُشْدُهُ فَيُتَّبَعُ وَ أَمْرٌ بَيِّنٌ غَيُّهُ فَيُجْتَنَبُ وَ أَمْرٌ مُشْكِلٌ يُرَدُّ عِلْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ و إِلَى رَسُولِه قال رَسُولُ اللَّه حَلَالٌ بَيِّنٌ وَ حَرَامٌ بَيِّنٌ و شُبُهَاتٌ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ فَمَنْ تَرَكَ الشُّبُهَاتِ نَجَا مِنَ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ و مَنْ أَخَذَ بِالشُّبُهَات ارْتَكَبَ الْمُحَرَّمَاتِ و هَلَكَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُ ثُمَّ قال في آخر الْحديث فَإِنَّ الْوُقُوفَ عِنْد الشُّبُهَات خَيْرٌ مِنَ الِاقْتِحَام في الْهَلَكَات

📚 Kafi, Vol. 1, p. 68

Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: Indeed, matters are of three types:

A matter whose guidance is clear, which is followed,

A matter whose misguidance is evident, which is avoided,

And a complex (ambiguous and doubtful) matter, whose knowledge is referred to Allah and His Messenger.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said: The permissible is clear, the forbidden is clear, and there are doubtful matters between them!

Thus, whoever abandons doubtful matters is saved from the forbidden, and whoever engages in doubtful matters commits the forbidden and is destroyed from where they do not know!

And at the end of the narration, he said: Pausing in the face of doubts is better than plunging suddenly into destruction!

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْر

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✅ Some mujtahids attempt to suggest, by raising issues such as the rulings on prayer and fasting at the North and South Poles or the mahram status of a mother-in-law, that there are matters which cannot be resolved through the methodology of the people of hadith, and only juristic principles and ijtihad can provide a solution!

Based on this, in the issue of the mahram status of a mother-in-law, they propose the juristic principle of 'sira mutasharri’a' (the conduct of the religious community) and try to imply that the people of hadith lack an answer to the ruling on the mahram status of a mother-in-law due to the absence of this principle!

However, it must be said that the principle of 'sira mutasharri’a' has no basis in the jurisprudence of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them all, and is a juristic principle with no legal validity. The people of hadith do not consider themselves permitted to use principles absent from the foundations and narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them all. By the grace of Allah, through adherence to narrations and narrational principles, they arrive at answers to their issues, even if under the title of caution or pausing in doubtful matters!

✅ The fact that mujtahids raise complex issues to justify ijtihad is not new. Even during the time of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, the issue of determining the qibla in confusion was raised and was met with a decisive response from Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him. Pay attention to the following narration:

5⃣عَنْ خِرَاشٍ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاکَ إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُخَالِفِینَ عَلَیْنَا یَقُولُونَ إِذَا أُطْبِقَتْ عَلَیْنَا أَوْ أَظْلَمَتْ فَلَمْ نَعْرِفِ السَّمَاءَ کُنَّا وَ أَنْتُمْ سَوَاءً فِی الِاجْتِهَادِ فَقَالَ لَیْسَ کَمَا یَقُولُونَ إِذَا کَانَ ذَلِکَ فَلْیُصَلَّ لِأَرْبَعِ وُجُوهٍ.

📚 Al-Tahdhib, Vol. 2, p. 45

One of the companions says: I said to Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him: May I be your ransom! Our opponents say: When the sky is cloudy or dark and we cannot discern the sky (to determine the qibla), we and you are equal in resorting to ijtihad! The Imam said: It is not as they say! When it is like this, one prays in all four directions!

✅ Of course, the application of the above narration and searching for the qibla for a confused person will be discussed in its appropriate context.

✅ In any case, acting upon ijtihad and investigation in a few limited matters as instructed by the Ahl al-Bayt has no relation to using ijtihad to issue rulings!

✅ Indeed, O mujtahids! We, the people of hadith, face a scarcity of narrations in some matters, and our hands are tied or limited in issuing rulings. We are compelled to resort to the guidance of our Imams through their principles, such as caution and pausing in doubtful matters, and we await the appearance of the Imam of the Time, peace be upon him, to clarify the ambiguous aspects of issues for us!

But honestly, what do you mujtahids do in the absence of narrations??! If you adhere to narrational principles, we are with you. But if you resort to juristic principles like 'sira mutasharri’a,' know that you have admitted to abandoning narrations and narrational principles, establishing a great proof against yourselves!

The people of hadith have the narrations and principles of the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, to answer their issues, and nothing beyond these two is authoritative. Thus, mujtahids should not think they have an advantage in resolving issues by possessing something else.

Therefore, I advise mujtahids not to challenge the people of hadith by raising complex issues like prayer and fasting at the North and South Poles, the mahram status of a mother-in-law, or other emerging issues. The only thing proven by this is that mujtahids resort to things beyond narrational principles and narrations, as if only Quranic and narrational principles and narrations were considered, they are fully available to and utilized by the people of hadith!

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْر

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