ممنوعيت ازدواج با زن شوهردار و در عده

Prohibition of marrying a married woman and a woman in Iddah

There are various traditions and rational arguments according to which marrying a married woman or a woman in Iddah is not permissible whether temporarily or permanently. Marrying a married woman or a woman in Iddah can be classified into different groups on the basis of being or not being aware of it and the type of verdict. The verdict for this type of marriage, in case the man knew that the woman was previously married, is permanent unlawfulness [hormat], and in case he did not knew and did not have intercourse with her the marriage is invalid. If the man is aware of the womanʹs previous marriage, their child will be considered as the child of adultery [walad al-zena]; if the man is not aware, the child will be considered as the one with doubtful origin. This paper studies arguments for the prohibition of such marriage and verdicts for various types of such marriage on the basis of religious arguments and the existing laws. The paper also suggests amendments for three related clauses in civil law and two clauses in Islamic penal law in order to remove ambiguities.