Can I Marry My Wife’s Sister?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: I am married and I have happy family with 3 children. Alhamdulillah, I am financially very good. I have huge property, and planning to share it within my family. I am planning to get married with my wife’s younger sister who is unmarried. Is this permissible?

Answer: assalamu alaykum

It would be impermissible for you to marry your wife’s sister while you are still married to your wife. This is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an, which states when discussing those one is prohibited to marry, “and two sisters in marriage at the same time.” (4:23)

This is also clearly affirmed in the sunna. When Fayruz al-Daylami came to the Prophet (God bless him) inquiring about his being married to two sisters, the Prophet (God bless him) instructed him to divorce one of them. [al-Tirmidhi]

As such, there is agreement between the scholars that joining two sisters in marriage is prohibited.

Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.