Is it halal to make an marriage commitment between me and the girl (who is christian) to avoid the zina?
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Asalam Alikum brother, I have a question, what is more haram, drinking alcohol or having sex without marriage? I
have done both and inshallah I am trying to stop
both. but every once in a while I seem to slip. How
can I do taouba from these actions? and is it halal to make an
marriage commitment between me and the girl (who is christian)
to avoid the zina? Your answers will be
appreciated
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Zina or
Alcohol?
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,
no grave, no prophet, no
imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
Your question: I
have a question, what is more haram, drinking alcohol
or having sex without marriage?
Beloved brother, ‘zina’ and the
consumption of intoxicants are both declared haraam
by Allah and His Messenger (saws); and
when something is declared haraam in Islam, there is no such thing as one being ‘more’ haraam than the other!
It would be more appropriate to
ask which one is considered a bigger sin in Islam! The way to determine which is a bigger sin in
the sight of Allah Subhanah, one has to see what are the punishments
prescribed for each, and refer to the
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws) to see which sin is considered
bigger. The harsher the punishment, the bigger the
sin; the stronger and more emphasized
the sin in the words of Allah and His Messenger (saws), the bigger the sin!
For example, the single biggest sin in the sight of
Allah is considered the heinous crime of ‘shirk’ or associating, invoking,
or worshipping others with Allah Subhanah! There is no bigger sin in the sight of Allah
Subhanah than this one sin! Why???
Because Allah Subhanah has clearly declared in
the Holy Quran that on the Day of Judgment, He may,
if He so Pleases, forgive all
sins, except this one sin of ‘shirk’! And He has declared that for people who die
in the state of shirk, He has made
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:Whoever commits ‘shirk’
(invoking anything with Allah), Allah
shall forbid for him
Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48:Shirk (associating
other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He
forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this. For whosoever associates any other partner
with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:If you commit
‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the
losers. Therefore, you should worship Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.
Ref: the sin and punishment of Zina.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 32:Do not even go near
‘zina’ (fornication or adultery) for it is a very
indecent thing and a very evil way!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 2:The woman and the man
guilty of ‘zina’ (fornication), flog each one of them with a hundred
stripes, and let not pity for them
restrain you in regard to a matter prescribed by Allah; if indeed you believe in Allah and the Last
Day! And let a section of the
believers witness the punishment inflicted on them.
Sahih Muslim Hadith
4207 Narrated by Imran
ibn Husayn
A woman from Juhaynah came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and she had
become pregnant because of adultery.
She said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), I have done something for which
(prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that.’ The Prophet (saws) called her master and
said: ‘Treat her well, and when she gives birth bring her to me.’ He did accordingly. Then the Prophet (saws) pronounced judgment
on her. Her clothes were tied around
her and then he (saws) gave the order and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar
said to him: ‘Allah's Apostle, you offer
prayer for her although she had committed adultery!’ Thereupon he (saws) said: ‘She has made such
a repentance that if it were to be divided among
seventy men of
Thus, in light of the Quran
and Sunnah the punishment for zina
(fornication and adultery) is as follows:
Fornication: Flog both the guilty man and the woman with a
hundred stripes in public.
Adultery: Stone both, the guilty man and the woman to death!
Ref: the punishment for consuming intoxicants.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:O you who have
believed! ‘Khamr’
(all types of intoxicants), games of chance, idols,
and divining arrows are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore,
stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, Shaitaan
seeks to sow enmity and hatred among you by means of ‘khamr’
(intoxicants) and gambling, and to
prevent you from the Remembrance of Allah and from Salaah. Will you not, then,
abstain from these things?
Sunan of Abu-Dawood
Hadith 4470 Narrated
by Qabisah ibn Dhuwayb
The Prophet (saws)
said: “If anyone drinks wine, flog him; if he repeats it,
flog him, and if he repeats it, flog
him. If he does it again a fourth time,
kill him.” A man who had drunk wine was
brought (to him (saws)) and he (saws) gave him lashes. He was again brought to him, and he (saws)
flogged him. He was again brought to him and he (saws) flogged him. He was again brought to him and he (saws)
flogged him. The punishment of killing (for drinking) was repealed, and a concession was allowed.
Al-Muwatta Hadith 42.2
Yahya related to me from Malik from Thawr ibn Zayd ad-Dili
that Umar ibn al-Khattab asked advice about a man drinking wine. Ali ibn Abi Talib said to him, "We
think that you flog him for it with eighty lashes. Because when he drinks, he
becomes intoxicated, and when he becomes intoxicated, he talks confusedly, and
when he talks confusedly, he lies." (80 lashes is the same amount as for
slandering) Umar gave eighty lashes for drinking
wine.
In light of the Sunnah,
the punishment for consuming intoxicants is 80 lashes in public.
Thus, if one compares the sin and punishment
of zina (fornication and adultery) and the
consumption of alcohol; the sin of zina is definitely bigger in the sight of Allah!
Your question: I
have done both and inshallah I am trying to stop
both. but every once in a while I seem to slip. How
can I do taouba from these actions?
The Messenger of Allah (saws)
said in an authentic narration: “All of
you are sinners, and
the best sinner (in the sight of Allah) is he who constantly seeks forgiveness
(from Allah Subhanah).”
Beloved brother, no matter what you
have done, the doors of Allah Subhanah are open for accepting Taubah
and Repentance until one approaches his appointment of death, when that door is closed shut! It is our humble and sincere request that
you turn to the Merciful Lord, and sincerely implore Him to forgive
you your short-comings; you will find
the Generous Lord Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, Insha Allah.
Brother, we have written an answer on how to
seek Taubah from the Merciful Lord, and are attaching that answer for your
reference.
Your question: and
is it halal to make an
marriage commitment between me and the girl (who is christian)
to avoid the zina?
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse
5:Likewise you are permitted to marry believing chaste women, and chaste women from among the people of
the Book (Jews and Christians),
provided that you give them their due ‘mahr’
and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor sected intrigues.
Beloved brother, Allah Subhanah has made it permissible for the believers to marry
only the ‘chaste’ woman from among the Jews and the Christians. The first thing you should do is turn to the
Merciful Lord and seek His Forgiveness for the evil act of ‘zina’, and make a solemn covenant with Him that you
will not repeat it again. Then you must
try to invite the Christian girl to also seek forgiveness from the Merciful and
try to invite her to Islam,
as that will be purer and better for you and her. If she, of her own free will, accepts Islam; all her previous sins will be forgiven. If you then marry her, not only will you save yourself from ‘zina’; you
will, Insha
Allah, receive a huge reward from Allah Subhanah for inviting her to Islam.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan