The Law on Marrying a Cousin, Also Consider the Bad Impacts of Marrying a Close Relative

Marriage illustration (Antara)

YOGYAKARTA – Islam has rules that regulate who can and cannot marry. One of the criteria for people who cannot marry is close relatives who still have mahram status. So what is the law regarding marrying your own cousin?

The Law on Marrying Cousin, Here's the Reason

Before answering the law on marrying a cousin, it's a good idea to understand the definitions of cousin and mahram. Both will be the basis for answering questions.

In the Great Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), cousins ​​are siblings from one grandmother. Simply put, they are the children of their father's and mother's siblings. Meanwhile, a mahram is, as reported by the NU Online website, a woman who cannot be married (haram) because of kinship, adult-in-law relations, and breast-feeding.

Mahram for reasons of kinship, for example mother, daughter, sister, brother's daughter (niece), sister's daughter (niece), father's aunt, and mother's aunt. This provision applies to men. Meanwhile, for women, they are prohibited from marrying their father, son, brother, and so on.

Then it is forbidden for men to marry women because of marital relations, namely the father's wife, the son's wife, the wife's mother (in-law), and the wife's daughter (stepdaughter). Meanwhile, mahram means breastfeeding from the same mother.

Meanwhile, in kinship relationships, cousins ​​are not considered mahram. This means that a man can marry his cousin. Even the Prophet Muhammad SAW married his cousin, Zainab bint Jahsy, who was the daughter of his father's brother, Umaimah bint Abdul Muttalib.

However, marriage with a cousin becomes haram if the cousin becomes a blood relative.

The Impact of Marrying Close Siblings

Marrying close relatives is explained by Imam Al-Ghazali in his book Ihya' Ulumiddin on marriage etiquette. Imam Ghazali said that marrying a close relative will have an impact on the children born later. This opinion is based on the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad SAW which means the following.

"Do not marry close relatives, because children will be born (born) weak (thin)."

Marriage with close or blood relatives will indeed cause serious problems for offspring, both physically and mentally. The following is the impact of marrying close relatives on offspring.

• Early death
• Body shape is not ideal
• Permanent disability
• Cancer
• Prone to illness because the body's immunity is very low
• The risk of inheriting a father's or mother's disease is very high
• Child growth and development is very slow
• Intellectual impairment is quite severe
• Body weight is not ideal
• Defects in body organs such as heart defects, cleft lip, crooked legs, and so on
• The risk of Down syndrome is greater
• Children's mentality is fragile and easily disturbed
• An autosomal recessive disorder caused by the union of two abnormal genes

That is information regarding the law of marrying a cousin. To get other interesting information, visit VOI.id.