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Fatwa CenterA Hadeeth encouraging marriage from someone who is a close relative
Question
My husband told me that he thought there is a hadeeth that the Prophet (saw) said that preference should be given to marying your cousin or someone from your own family, then to a friends family and then a neighbour before marrying from a family elsewhere. He did say that he was not sure if this was or was not a true hadeeth, but it was in the context of our discussions about marriage practices in his native Muslim country. Please can you confirm if this is or is not a true hadeeth. Jazakallah Khair
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
As far as we are aware, there is no narration which states that it is more appropriate to marry someone who is a close relative, like the cousins and so forth, as your husband thinks. Rather, some jurists 
stated that it is more appropriate to marry a woman who is not a relative. Al-Hajaawi 
from the Hanbali School, said: 'It is desirable to marry a religious woman who is not a relative…' Moreover, Al-Buhooti said: 'It is because her children will be more prolific, and because it is not sure that one would not divorce. If the wife is a relative and one divorces her, this would lead to the cutting of ties with kinship.'
To conclude, religion is what one should take into account when choosing a wife as clarified in Fatwa 82114.
Allaah Knows best.
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