Regarding Mehram Relations One's father-in-law is a mahram, what if you separate from your husband, is he still your mahram/does one have to do the hijab? also same with your daughter's husband? In our culture your khaloo (husband of mother's sister) or phupah (husband of father's sister) is considered or treated as mahram when according to Islamic rule he is not. If there is no other way except being blunt, to ask them not to hug you/hand shake, even when you know they will not like it? Reply According to the Qur'an, a person's daughter-in-law and mother-in-law are among those relations which are permenantly prohibited for marriage. Therefore, we may say that these relations are amongst the (so-called) mehram relations for a man/woman. The frankness or otherwise in the relationship with husband of the sister of one's father or mother, is really a cultural issue. It may vary from culture to culture. The shari`ah does not give a specific direction regarding the style of greeting a relative. This, therefore is basically a cultural issue and has been left by the shari`ah to the ma`roof of the society. In my opinion, if there is a significant age difference between the two individuals there is no harm in shaking hands with your maternal or paternal uncles. On the other hand, if the age difference is not very significant then, in my opinion, it would be preferable to maintain a slightly distant relationship to avoid any psychological or emotional complicacies. The same would be the case in other relations which are generally not considered as "mehram" by the Muslim jurists. I hope this helps. Regards and salaam. The Learner