A mahram refers to the group of people who are unlawful for a woman to marry due to marital or blood relationships. These people include:
- Her permanant Mahrams due to blood relationship, and those seven are: her father, her son (who passed puberty), her brother, her uncle from her father's side, her brother's son, her sister's son, and her uncle from her mother's side.
- Her Radha' Mahrams due to sharing the nursing milk when she was an infant, and their status is similar to the permanent seven Mahrams (i.e. nothing can change their status).
- Her (in law) Mahrams because of marriage and they are: her husband's father (father in law), her husband's son (step son), her mother's husband (step father), and her daughter's husband.
These categories of people, along with the woman's husband, form the group of allowable escorts for a Muslim woman when she travels.