Fact Check: Muslim man marries his niece? No, viral video is scripted

A video featuring a young man wearing a skull cap and a woman in a hijab has been widely shared on social media, with claims that the two are uncle and niece who married despite their close blood relation. The alleged couple claims their family disapproves of their marriage, but they are recording the video to prevent interference. The video further suggests that such marriages are permissible in their culture and Islam.

A user on X shared the video with the caption, “Marriage with elder brother’s daughter, This is possible only in Islam!” (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The viral video is scripted.

We conducted a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes and found its extended version published on the Facebook page Ankita Karotiya on February 23. Upon watching the complete video, we found a disclaimer at the 5:59 timestamp stating that the video is scripted.

The disclaimer reads: “This video is purely made for entertainment purposes only. It has no intention to disrespect or defame anyone based on race, colour, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression.”

We checked the About section of the Facebook page and found that Ankita Karotiya describes herself as a digital creator and actor.

Additionally, we found the extended version of the video on Ankita Karotiya’s YouTube channel, which has 4.05 lakh subscribers. The same disclaimer appears at the 5:59 timestamp.

Further analysis of the channel’s content found that the man seen in the viral clip has appeared in multiple other scripted videos uploaded by the channel. (Click here and here to see the videos.)

Is such a marriage allowed in Islam?

NewsMeter spoke to Abdus Samad, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Osmania University, who clarified that marrying one’s first uncle (father’s or mother’s brother) is forbidden in Islam.

He explained, “According to the Quran’s Surah An-Nisa, the rules and regulations of marriage, including whom one can and cannot marry, are clearly outlined from Ayat 23 to 33. These rules state that marriage with one's father, son, brother, paternal uncle (father’s brother), and maternal uncle (mother’s brother) is strictly forbidden in Islam across all sects.”

However, he added that marrying distant relatives, such as cousin uncles, is allowed.

We also verified this on several Islamic websites (here and here) and found that certain close relatives are permanently forbidden from marriage. These include the father, son, brother, paternal uncle (father’s brother), maternal uncle (mother’s brother), grandfather, grandson, and nephew (brother’s or sister’s son).

The viral claim that a Muslim woman married her uncle is false. The video is scripted and intended for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, Islamic law prohibits such marriages.