Between the Permissible and the Prohibited

Islam does not allow relationships to be ruled by chaos...
It has established controlling guidelines so as to protect life, offspring, and honor.
Allah, exalted be He, said:
“Prohibited to you [for marriage] are your mothers, your daughters,your sisters, your father’s sisters, your mother’s sisters, your brother’s daughters, your sister’s daughters, your [milk] mothers who nursed you, your sisters through nursing, your wives’ mothers,and your step-daughters under your guardianship [born] of your wives unto whom you have gone in. But if you have not gone in unto them, there is no sin upon you. And [also prohibited are] the wives of your sons who are from your [own] loins, and that you take [in marriage] two sisters simultaneously, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.” [An-Nisa: 23]

These are not arbitrary restrictions… but rather a barrier that protects the family from collapsing.
They protect blood from getting mixed… They preserve affection from being violated… They protect dignity from being tampered with.
What Allah forbids… is not deprivation.
It is rather a protection… a mercy… and a regulation of our lives.
Marriage in Islam is a construction… not a fleeting desire.
Therefore, what is forbidden… encompasses profound wisdom.
And what is permitted… is wide enough to reassure the heart.