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Does any children that come from the widow's previous marriage considered the same as a man's own children. Are a man's obligations towards his own children the same as what he has to the widow he may marry children?

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  • Marrying any and all women is permissible except for specific cases, these are covered in Who are the women that a man is forbidden to marry?. So if a widow does not fall into them then marrying her is permissible.
    – UmH
    Oct 4, 2021 at 11:19
  • Is there any other teaching about the subject that goes beyond just whether it is permissible? I'm interested in the general attitudes of the practice as well.
    – Neil Meyer
    Oct 4, 2021 at 11:27
  • There are several teachings but you need to give a more specific question so that we know what to mention. For example there are teachings about the mourning period of a widow and the time when it is permissible to propose to her. Or there are teachings about the way that the wali takes permission from a widow when giving her in marriage. Or there are teachings about the dealings between the new husband and any children of the widow from previous marriages etc.
    – UmH
    Oct 4, 2021 at 12:14
  • The prophet married both virgins and widows and so did the sahaba. It is generally preferred to marry a virgin however in some cases it could be preferable to marry a widow. See e.g. sunnah.com/bukhari:4052
    – UmH
    Oct 4, 2021 at 12:17
  • Ok I have narrowed this question to be about what the obligations a man has towards his widow's children from a previous marriage.
    – Neil Meyer
    Oct 4, 2021 at 12:28

1 Answer 1

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In general: Previous children of a spouse (i.e. step children) are not considered the same as a person's own children. For example many obligations do not apply such as maintenance, accommodation, nursing, inheritance etc. Rather these are due on the biological relatives of the children.

There are however some laws which are the same for step children as for biological children, for example the prohibition of marriage extends to step children. i.e. one can not marry them.

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