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Fatwa CenterRulings related to living in a joint family
Question
is it permissible to live in joint family if i dont have any bad feeling or thoughts to my cousions.Is my maternal uncle's wives non mehram for me?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We do not understand what you mean exactly by the extended family. We wish to inform you that female cousins are not Mahrams (family members with whom marriage would be considered permanently unlawful) and your maternal uncle’s wife is not also considered a Mahram just because she is a maternal uncle’ wife unless she is a Mahram, from a legal perspective. For example, if she is a paternal aunt and a maternal uncle’s wife at the same time. If a person’s maternal uncle marries his paternal aunt, for example, his maternal uncle’s wife shall be considered a Mahram because she is his paternal aunt, not because she is his maternal uncle’s wife.
If your place of residence is separate from theirs in the entrance, exit, and facilities, such as the bathroom and the like, then there is nothing wrong with residing with them because your place of residence is separate from theirs. In addition, this is not considered Khalwah (a man being in seclusion with a marriageable woman without the presence of a Mahram). If you live with them in the same house and share with them facilities, such as the bathroom, entrance, and exit, this is not permissible. A man is not allowed to live in the same house with non-Mahrams, even if he has kind feelings towards them. The Prophet said: “Beware of entering upon women (getting into the houses and meeting women in seclusion). A man from the Ansar said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about the Hamw (the in-law)?’ Whereupon He said: ‘The Hamw is death.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The Arabic word “Hamw” mentioned in the Hadith means the non-Mahram relative of a woman’s husband, such as his brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, and paternal and maternal cousins. The Arabic phrase “Al-Hamw is death” indicates that he is feared more than anyone else, and evil and temptation are expected from him more than it is expected from anyone else because he can reach the non-Mahram woman and be in Khalwah (seclusion) with her without being criticized, unlike a man who is not a relative). This was stated by An-Nawawi 
in his explanation of Sahih Muslim.
It was narrated on the authority of Ibn `Abbas 
both, that the Prophet said: “A man must not be alone with a woman except in the presence of a Mahram.” [Al-Bukhari]
In another Hadith, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “After this day, no man should enter in secret upon a Mughayyabah unless there is another man or two with him.” [Muslim] The Arabic word “Mughayyabah” means the woman whose husband is absent.
Allah knows best.
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