Is Cousin Marriage Allowed In Islam?

In the Western world, marrying one’s own cousin or even a faraway family member is considered to be taboo because of the risks that may come with it but some people are not aware that marrying cousins is allowed in Islam.

IslamicMarriage Magazine > Dating & Relationships| Updated November 29, 2022

In the Western world, marrying one's own cousin or even a faraway family member is considered to be taboo because of the risks that may come with it but some people are not aware that marrying cousins is allowed in Islam. There are even some sectors that are highly encouraging this. Still, there are also some who feel that this law is such a waste because they consider it as incest.

History of Marrying Cousins

People should know that cousin marriage in Islam is allowed because proper Muhammad himself married his own cousin – Zaynab bint Jahsh. The main reason why this happened is because Muhammad was supposed to visit his adopted son but instead, he found Zaynab and was immediately attracted to her. Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's son but because of the incident, he did not find her attractive anymore so he got a divorce.

Why Cousin – Cousin Marriage May Have Risks

There are some risks that may come with cousin to cousin marriage. For instance, the recessive traits that cousins have may be extremely similar and these recessive traits which are not necessarily good will become dominant in their children. Birth defects in the baby can be very common especially if first cousins marry each other. If the children are not defective, they will still carry more genes in them that might not be good if they would also get married and have their children. The bad effects of this type of marriage can go on and on.

There are also times when the defects will not manifest physically during birth but as time passes by, the traits that have been acquired becomes apparent with the child's speech or maybe even health. Sometimes, there are children who die because of the various illnesses that he or she has experienced at a young age simply because his/her parents are first cousins.

Those who marry their cousins are usually 13 times more likely to produce children with genetic disorders or children who will not live long because of various illnesses and conditions. There are times when children die in birth because of the various effects that they have experienced. Usually, couples who are found to have produced children with defects are not recommended to have children again and this can of course become a hindrance to Muslims' married life.

Cousin to cousin marriage have certain risks that people have to be aware of.

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