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Khala (maternal aunt)

الخالة

The khala (maternal aunt) is the mother's sister, the mother being whoever bore one, in fact or by extension. 1 A maternal or milk-aunt is forbidden in marriage by consensus, by the Quranic list of the forbidden and the saying that what is forbidden by kinship is forbidden by suckling. 1 As a kinswoman by blood she is among the kin who are not sharers or agnates, and her inheritance is disputed: the Shafiis and Malikis deny it, the Hanafis and Hanbalis grant it when agnates and sharers are absent. 2 She has the right of custody; the majority deny maintenance to her, the Hanafis oblige maintenance to a blood aunt; a milk-aunt has neither custody nor maintenance. 2

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At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Law and courts

Summary

The khala (maternal aunt) is the mother's sister, the mother being whoever bore one, in fact or by extension. 1 A maternal or milk-aunt is forbidden in marriage by consensus, by the Quranic list of the forbidden and the saying that what is forbidden by kinship is forbidden by suckling. 1 As a kinswoman by blood she is among the kin who are not sharers or agnates, and her inheritance is disputed: the Shafiis and Malikis deny it, the Hanafis and Hanbalis grant it when agnates and sharers are absent. 2 She has the right of custody; the majority deny maintenance to her, the Hanafis oblige maintenance to a blood aunt; a milk-aunt has neither custody nor maintenance. 2

People and things also explored

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)· Democracy and the Sharia — compatibility and conflict· Fatwa on the satellite channels — its benefit and harm· Secularism and Islam — conflict or concord· Stoning (rajm) as a penalty for zina· Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Aman (safe-conduct granted to enemies in war)· Amana (trust, deposit and what is entrusted)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.7534
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.7535
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Khala (maternal aunt)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/khala-maternal-aunt/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)

Ahliyya is lexically suitability, and it is of two kinds: capacity to have rights and duties, the capacity of liability; and capacity to act, that is to perform acts recognised by the law. Its bearer passes through the stages of the foetus, childhood, discernment, puberty and maturity. Liability is complete from birth and incomplete for the foetus; the capacity to act is partial at discernment and full with puberty and reason. It is affected by heavenly impediments such as madness, imbecility, sleep, fainting, illness, slavery, menstruation, childbirth and death, and by acquired ones such as ignorance, drunkenness, jest, folly, travel, error and coercion.