“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i
“(Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book, revealed before your time,- when ye give them their due dowers, and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor secret intrigues if any one rejects faith, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).”
In this ayah, the Holy Quran categorically declares that marriage between a Muslim man and a Christian/Jew woman is Halal. However early jurists of most of the prominent schools of Islamic jurisprudence ruled in fiqh law that the marriage of a Muslim man to a Christian or Jewish woman is makruh (disliked) specially if they live in a non-Muslim country. Mufti Mohammed Shafi has this to say: “According to the Quran and Sunnah, and in the conduct of the noble Sahaabaa of the Holy Prophet, it is incumbent upon Muslims that they should totally abstain from marrying contemporary Kitabi (Jewish and Christian) women.” This statement does not stand scrutiny. The Quranic ayahs refer to the infidels and polytheists (kafirs and mushrekins) and not to the Kitabis. The maulanahas not given any reference to a hadith of the Holy Prophet in this connection. Maulana Maudoodi has discussed the different opinions in his famous Tafheem.
[3] Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada says that this permission cannot be generalized. He points out that during the time of the second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, according to some sources had forbidden some of the eminent Companions of the Prophet from marrying women of the People of the Book. He asked those Companions: “If everyone were to make use of this provision who would marry Muslim girls? Notable scholar Bilal Philips has said the verse that permits Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women is not valid anymore today due to several reasons including its misunderstood interpretation. Sheikh Shabir Ally, an Islamic scholar from Canada, has also stated that it is makrooh (disliked) for a Muslim man to marry outside his religion. Prophet Muhammad’s wife Maria was a Copt from Egypt. But it is claimed that she later embraced Islam before their wedding. May Allah Ta’aala bless our outstanding Imam Abu Hanifa, other venerable imams and the eminent jurist and scholars, I would loath to be a part of the audacity (and possibly a sin) of labeling as makrooh what our Lord Creator has obviously and distinctly permitted as halal.
In practice, many Arab countries allowed interfaith marriage to Christian or Jewish women but not to non-Muslim men. Turkey allows marriages to non-Muslim men through secular laws. In Malaysia a non-Muslim must convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim. The offspring of such unions are automatically Muslims. Interfaith marriage especially between Hindus and Muslims often have been the bone of contention and have resulted in communal riots in India.
What about a Muslim woman marrying a man from the People of the Book. There seems to be a consensus among scholars that such a marriage is unlawful. This decision however, is not based on any Qur’anic text or saying of the Prophet but on the basis of analogy (al quiyāss) and consensus (Ijmā’). The majority of scholars have not tried to rationalize and explain this prohibition even though it seems to contradict the general principle of gender equality in Islam, especially if a man respects and tolerates the faith of a Muslim women and if she is independent?
It should be stressed that Islam does not encourage interfaith marriages and generally disallows it with the exception mentioned in the ayah under discussion. The general rule of Islam is that Muslims should marry Muslims only as per the following ayahs
[4]
“Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters), until they believe: A slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: A man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even though he allures 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: That they may celebrate His praise.”
“Women impure are for men impure, and men impure for women impure and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity: these are not affected by what people say: for them there is forgiveness, and a provision honourable.”
“If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess: And Allah hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: Wed them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: when they are taken in wedlock, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practise self-restraint. And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Thus a Muslim male or female should not marry a non-Muslim female or male. The only exception is given to Muslim men who are allowed to marry the chaste girls from among the People of the Book. The Quran does not extend nor deny this exception to Muslim women.
The eminent Muslim scholar, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi in his well-known book, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam says: “It is haram for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, regardless of whether he is of the People of the Book or not.” In addition to one the ayahs above, he quotes the following:
[5]
“O ye who believe! When there come to you believing women refugees, examine (and test) them: Allah knows best as to their Faith: if ye ascertain that they are Believers, then send them not back to the Unbelievers. They are not lawful (wives) for the Unbelievers, nor are the (Unbelievers) lawful (husbands) for them. But pay the Unbelievers what they have spent (on their dower), and there will be no blame on you if ye marry them on payment of their dower to them. But hold not to the guardianship of unbelieving women: ask for what ye have spent on their dowers, and let the (Unbelievers) ask for what they have spent (on the dowers of women who come over to you). Such is the command of Allah: He judges (with justice) between you. And Allah is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom.”
He continues that “no text exists which makes exceptions for the People of the Book. Hence, on the basis of the above verses, there is a consensus among Muslims concerning this prohibition.”
The Islamic prohibition of Intra-Faith marriages conforms to and strengthens the objectives of marriage and ensures its smooth and successful operation. Marriage is a life long commitment between two individuals to live together every minute of their lives, at every level of activity, in every forum of entertainment, in happiness and bereavement and in moments of success and failure. Our Deen is a complete code of guidance and ethics for every aspect of our lives. Our mandatory arkaan (rituals) are deliberately meant to be intrusive to keep us God conscience all the time and in all circumstances. The five time mandatory prayers, the monthly compulsory fasting, abstinence from alcohol, avoiding pork, a distinctive pattern of modesty in dress and definite prohibition of inter-gender relations at play have very strong social and cultural impact and consequences. Is it fair to expect your non-Muslim life partner to go along with you in observing all these features? To give you emotional and spiritual companionship when s/he does not recognize the Divine origin of Islam and refuses to accept the Holy Quran as the Words of God Almighty? The Most Important and Venerable human being to us, the Holy Prophet does not have any meaning in their lives. Add to this the problem of the fate, upbringing and education of the chidden — the ultimate objective, pleasure, pinnacle of marriage— and the inter-faith marriages clearly appear as impractical and imprudent and fraught with tremendous hurdles if the individuals concerned are proud, practicing and knowledgable Muslims, Christians or Jews. Inter Faith marriages need to be avoided till Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo blesses us with the wisdom behind this permission and the strength to live through it. If, however the partners in a marriage are religious merely by an accident of birth and have maintained the label only for census purposes, then a difference of religion between them does not factor in at all .
What about the this logic: if Muslim men have been given the permission to marry women from among the People of Book then Muslim women also have the same right because Islam has given equal status to the two genders. In the traditional orthodox patriarchal interpretation of Islam this logic will be immediately thrown out because “First of all, it’s important for a Muslim woman to know the essence of the ruling that she should not marry a non-Muslim; she should know that it’s a great honor for her to be bared from doing so. According to the Qur’an, the husband is the head of a
household, and as such his wife should obey him. Almighty Allah does not want to put the Muslim woman in a position that a non-Muslim becomes her head in her own private life. Allah has spared her from being under the authority of a non-Muslim husband.” Problem solved! However, even from a modern and liberal but Islamic perspective there is definite and significant difference in the role and weight of man and woman (mother and father) in marriage. Hence one needs some additional reasons to claim that women also have a right to marry non-Muslim men.
If a married woman from the People of the Book embraces Islam while the husband does not follow suit needs special mention specially if she has children. The example of our Prophet’s daughter Zainab is a good leading example for us. She was married, before Islam, to a polytheistic man called Abul Aas Ibn Ar-Rubayy. He fought with the disbelievers in the Battle of Badr and was taken prisoner by Muslims. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, released him on the condition that he would send Zainab free. Abul Aas did what he promised the Prophet to do. Later Abul Aas went to Ash-Shaam (the Levant) with a caravan, and on his way back he was intercepted by the expedition of the Prophet. All the people in the caravan were arrested with the exception of Abu Abul Aas, who fled away. At night Abul Aas approached Zainab and sought her protection which she agreed to. At the Fajr prayer, she went to the Masjid and announced that she had given refuge to Abul Aas. Upon hearing this, our Holy Prophetsaid to her: “Make his stay honorable, but don’t let him have intercourse with you for you are no longer lawful for him.” It is said that Abul Aas returned to Makkah to give back the trusts to their rightful owners; then he returned to Medinah, embraced Islam, and joined his wife Zainab. It is not reported that the Prophet did make a new Nikah(marriage contract) for his daughter. The message is obvious: a wife’s patience towards her non-Muslim husband might guide his heart to Islam. So, a Muslim wife should try to give her husband some time, and invite him to Islam. However, all along, she is not allowed to have sexual relationship with him.
The American society has come to accept diverse relationships. According to the 2006 General Social Survey, 25% of U.S. households identified themselves as “interfaith,” a rising trend in our increasingly diverse society. About 8% of American marriages are now between partners of different races, and a much higher proportion, 37%, are between individuals of different religions. Indeed, approximately one in four Jews and Catholics in the USA marry outside their faith.
In a 2007 survey of Muslim Americans (Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream) conducted by the Pew Research Center, 30% of Muslim men and 46% of Muslim women said they oppose interfaith marriage. The Arab-American demographic of this survey was most averse to interfaith unions. Religiosity distorts the intolerance further: While 84% of those who were “not very religious” regarded interfaith marriage as acceptable, less than half of “devout” respondents were OK with it. In addition, the same survey showed many more Muslim men (70%) than Muslim women (54%) think marrying a non-Muslim is acceptable.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16 states that men and women who have attained the age of majority have the right to marry “without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion”. While most of Article 16 is incorporated verbatim in Article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the language about religious and racial limitations is omitted. The American Convention on Human Rights Article 17 clause two states that all men and women have the right to marry subject to the conditions of domestic law “insofar as such conditions do not affect the principle of nondiscrimination established in this Convention.”
Finally, the rest of the ayah defines the sanctity of the contract of marriage: give them the dowry, desire chastity and not lewdness and keep a distance from conspiracies and intrigues. As always, we are reminded in the end of the main sanction for the commands of Allah Ta’aala “if any one rejects faith” reminding us that all our interest and activities in life are linked with our duty to God and faith in Him. Duty and faith are for our own benefit, here and in the Hereafter.
……..and Allah knows best.
May Allah Ta’aala bless us with true understanding–“fahm”–of our Deen, Aameen.