The Understanding of the Hadeeth:Alhamoo is death

[Omm AL-Homayra'a]

The Understanding of the Hadeeth "Alhamoo is death

question being asked to Sheikh Saleh As-Saleh rahimahullah
Delivered on January 27th, 2007

Question: What is the understanding of the hadeeth of the
“Al-hamoo is death.” *[4] Does this even include the father-in-law?


Answer: Those who are intended by the term ‘hamoo
’ (الحمو) in this hadeeth are the relatives of the husband other than his fathers and other than his sons. So the fathers and the sons are mahrams to the zawjah (زوجة – wife). Therefore they are not described as ‘death’. So what is intended is (that it refers to the relatives of the husband such as) his brother, his uncle, his brother's son, his first cousin – (they are) those who are not mahrams. The mahram is the husband and those whom the woman cannot marry – either by way of lineage, or by way of breastfeeding, or by way of relations – marital relations.

Why did the Prophet say that now we know who is "hamoo" that “he is death”? This is a word said by the Arabs, just like they say ‘ Al-asadul mawt’ (الأسد الموت) – ‘the lion is death’, meaning that meeting the lion is like death. It means that when there is seclusion with the husband's relatives from the non-mahrams, this leads to fitnah – tribulation and destruction in the Deen. So, it is considered like the destruction of death. This is the meaning of the hadeeth.

This is something we must all watch for because this is dangerous zina – fornication, adultery) totally and the like. We ask Allaah's protection from all of this. because people are lenient in terms of this. They consider that these are relatives and so it is permissible for the wife to be with them. And because of that, it leads to dangerous consequences from unlawful relations, and (word unclear) falling into.