Muslim marrying a Christian/Jew Girl- Allowed in Islam

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SunniPath>Answers>Hanafi Fiqh>Marriage> Marrying non-Muslims: the legal ruling

Question ID:2267

Date Published: July 03, 2005

Marrying non-Muslims: the legal ruling

Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari

Question:

Could someone from amongst your group (Please) put together a reply that gives the reasons why our

young women may not marry outside Islam and send it to the gentleman (also covering his question).

Please keep me in copy as I am interested in forwarding it to a young Muslim friend who is 'marrying' an

Irish Catholic man who refuses to convert to Islam.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Inter-marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims is something that has been clearly

prohibited in the Quran and Sunnah, thus not permissible in any way. The only exception tothis general rule is the marriage of Muslim men with Christian and Jewish girls, and that also

with certain conditions.

Allah Most High says:
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Do not marry unbelieving women until they believe. A slave woman who believes is betterthan an unbelieving woman, even though if she attracts you. And not marry (your girls) to

unbelievers until they believe. A man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even

though if he attracts you. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the fire but Allah beckons by

His grace to the garden (of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His signs clear to mankind; thatthey may receive admonition. (al-Baqarah, 221).

The above verse of the Holy Quran along with many other statements of the Quran andSunnah clearly mention the impermissibility of Muslims marrying non-Muslims. Therefore, a

marriage between a Muslim and someone from another religion will not be lawful or even

valid according to Islam. The exception, however, is mentioned in the following verse:

(Lawful unto you in marriage are chaste women who are believers and chaste womenamong the people of the book. (al-Maidah, 5).

Thus, it would be permissible, in principle, for Muslim men to marry women from the people

of the book (ahl al-Kitab) namely Christian and Jewish girls. However, this is also subjected

to certain conditions, as will be mentioned later.

The reason behind this is that, marital relationships demand mutual love, affection and

intimacy and without this, the purpose of marriage is left unfulfilled. If such close relationship

of love and intimacy is established with a non-Muslim, it may emotionally incline a Muslim

towards disbelief (kufr) or, at least, the abhorrence of Kufr and Shirk may not remain in the

heart. Consequently, it may lead one to disbelief and eventually the fire of Hell. This is why

Allah Almighty said towards the end of the verse of Surah al-Baqarah quoted above:

Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the fire but Allah beckons by His grace to the garden(of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His signs clear to mankind; that they may receive

admonition. ( 221). (See: Maarif al-Quran, 1/ 540).

Therefore, the fear that a Muslim man or woman may well be affected with his/her partnersreligion, thus go on to a path that leads to the fire of hell, is the main cause for this

prohibition. Hence, a Muslim woman will not be allowed whatsoever to marry anyone besides

a Muslim man, and even if she did, the marriage will not be valid in Islam. Similarly, a

Muslim man will not be allowed to marry any non-Muslim girl, such as a Hindu, Sikh,

Buddhist, or any other non-Muslim woman. However, it will be permissible for him to marry

a Christian or a Jewish girl. This is explained in the following section.

Marrying Christian and Jewish girls

As stated previously, Islam has allowed Muslim men to marry women from the people of the

book (ahl al-Kitab). This permission is explicitly mentioned in the verse of the Quranalready quoted:

(Lawful unto you in marriage are chaste women who are believers and chaste womenamong the people of the book. (al-Maidah, 5).

However, there are certain points that need to be taken into consideration here:

Firstly, the exception of Christian and Jewish girls is because the difference in belief between


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Therefore, if a Muslim male is confident that marriage with a Christian or Jewish girl will

have no affect on his and his childrens Islamic identity and commitment, then there is nobar against such marriages. However, if he is not so confident, he must avoid entering into

such marriages.

And Allah knows best

Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari

Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK

MMVIII SunniPath.

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Muslim marrying a Christian/Jew Girl- Allowed in Islam