Cousin marriages- dnt understand???

[Ozi Kristi-lee]

Salamunalaykom, I really dnt understand y Allah would allow cousins to marry each other especially since theirs evidence the child theyd have has a higher chance of being disabled. I look at my cousins like family, rather than people I can marry n I just can't get my head around this. Does anyone understand what I'm saying? By the way, I am not putting down ppl or cultures who do practice this, I'm just asking for any thoughts... Thnx

[Jafar]

Why not? We're all 'cousins' anyway..
There are no two people who are living today which are more distantly related than 50th cousins..
Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Queen Victoria married their first cousins, and all of their children are fine..
Although it's true the more distant (in family relatives) two people are, the richer their children gene pool will be and probabilistically shall yield 'better offspring'...

Salam / Peace

[Indelwyn]

I understand your questioning, it is difficult at times with my husbands family because they are all inner related. It can be confusing to me when I am trying to figure who is what. He will say my Great Aunt who is also my Grandmother.. it just blows my mind. But I come from a culture where this is not the norm. I think it would be extremely difficult in a case where the cousins divorce. It could destroy a family, I suppose. Or ppl who have 2 wives and both are cousins, (not sisters of course).. now try that shoe on for size!

I think it is just different for those of us not exposed. The idea of sleeping with my male cousins because we are close, as you said family, just turns my stomach, I could not even find them sexual attractive, but again culture and to each their own.

Allah knows better than us and he has allowed it.

[rraza]

Just because its allowed doesnt mean you should go ahead and do it. Upto the culture  guess. My cousins have married each other...but the idea grosses me out..mostly because im not in that culture anymore. But yea, if the opposing reason to this is the higher chance of abnormal offsprings, then that is not really sound basis of opposition IMO. I know of plenty of couples belonging to opposite parts of the world who have had children with special needs..more serious ones than any cousin intermarriages I have seen. Yes being half related increases the likelihood of having deleterious genes being collected in the offspring..but doesnt mean it should be forbidden in islam just because of a simple likelihood.

[hope4]

Salamunalaykom, I really dnt understand y Allah would allow cousins to marry each other especially since theirs evidence the child theyd have has a higher chance of being disabled. I look at my cousins like family, rather than people I can marry n I just can't get my head around this. Does anyone understand what I'm saying? By the way, I am not putting down ppl or cultures who do practice this, I'm just asking for any thoughts... Thnx

Selam

Have I missed something? Could you please reference where this is stated in the AQ? Thanks

Peace

[kgwithnob]

Verse 33:50,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ اللَّاتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَامْرَأَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

What I personally understand from the above verse, is that marrying cousins, among others, was lawful for the Prophet, pbuh, only.

Peace,
Khalil
 

[S29]

Peace,

Salamunalaykom, I really dnt understand y Allah would allow cousins to marry each other especially since theirs evidence the child theyd have has a higher chance of being disabled. I look at my cousins like family, rather than people I can marry n I just can't get my head around this. Does anyone understand what I'm saying? By the way, I am not putting down ppl or cultures who do practice this, I'm just asking for any thoughts... Thnx

You don't have to marry your cousin or anyone you find them detestable for marriage which is a matter of culture and personal taste which those thoughts were put in your head same like eating snails some find horrific while others a treat.

The disease stuff has more to do with probability i.e. if a certain bad gene is inherited the more likely it would be passed down to children from two carriers same with any two unrelated persons carrying the bad genetic code whereas for healthy individuals there is no evidence.

Verse 33:50,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ اللَّاتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَامْرَأَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you;






and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

What I personally understand from the above verse, is that marrying cousins, among others, was lawful for the Prophet, pbuh, only.

Peace,
Khalil
 

I put the break/pause 'and" new sentence in the verse. Also see 4:22-24 cousins excluded from those forbidden.

http://free-minds.org/quran/PM/4/22

[Kukumber]

Peace Ozzi-Kristi Lee

Maybe you should ask yourself where you got this idea that "theirs evidence the child theyd have has a higher chance of being disabled". Is it something that was culturally taught or is there a real scientific basis to it. From what I remember from Science class, there are many different genes that are found on a single loci in our DNA (or something like that), and the closer you are related to someone, the more likely you are then to reduce the diversity there. But how does that actually translate when there is an actual baby. How higher is the chance? Like rraza mentioned unrelated couples have disabled children too. From what I can vaguely remember from taking biology in 1st year in university is that there is an approx 2% chance for unrelated couples to have a child with a birth defect, and 4% for a first cousin marriage.

Having this knowledge, people can decide what they want to do for their own selves. I don't see it as something Allah needed to forbid.

Kukumber

[nerspi]

Verse 33:50,
-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers;
What I personally understand from the above verse, is that marrying cousins, among others, was lawful for the Prophet, pbuh, only.

peace

may i ask why such a thing would be allowed ONLY for the prophet and nobody else?
i thought quran rules apply to everyone, so why certain things only for him....?

[OPF]

Peace Ozzi-Kristi Lee

Maybe you should ask yourself where you got this idea that "theirs evidence the child theyd have has a higher chance of being disabled". Is it something that was culturally taught or is there a real scientific basis to it. From what I remember from Science class, there are many different genes that are found on a single loci in our DNA (or something like that), and the closer you are related to someone, the more likely you are then to reduce the diversity there. But how does that actually translate when there is an actual baby. How higher is the chance? Like rraza mentioned unrelated couples have disabled children too. From what I can vaguely remember from taking biology in 1st year in university is that there is an approx 2% chance for unrelated couples to have a child with a birth defect, and 4% for a first cousin marriage.

Having this knowledge, people can decide what they want to do for their own selves. I don't see it as something Allah needed to forbid.

Kukumber

It's intuitive. Let's say one person has a defective gene and another doesnt't. Chance of passing it on (i.e. contribution to child's DNA) = 50%. If both have that gene, chance of passing it on = 100%.