In Malaysia we frequently read reports of Muslim couples being arrested for the offense of committing ‘khalwat’ or being in ‘close proximity<[1]’ to each other. For the benefit of all thinking humans it is best that we explain a little what is meant by ‘Muslim couples’ and what is meant by ‘khalwat’ or close proximity.
For the purposes of khalwat a ‘couple’ refers to a man and a woman who can lawfully get married to each other. The word used to describe such a couple is ‘not muhreem’. ‘Muhreem’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘raheem’ which means womb.
Not muhreem means not of the same womb – meaning there is no blood relationship so the couple can marry each other. An unrelated couple who has breastfed from the same wet nurse as babies is considered a blood relation like brother and sister and can therefore be alone together without raising any suspicions.
The offense of khalwat or being in ‘close proximity’ means that a Muslim couple who is ‘not muhreem’ cannot be close together alone in a closed environment like a room, a house, an office or a car. In Malaysia Muslim couples have been caught for khalwat in parks, hotel rooms and houses. In two glaring cases even a married couple staying in a hotel room was once arrested for khalwat because they could not produce documentary proof that they were already married.
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