Permissible for a Sunni lady to marry a Shia?
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:
Assalam-0-Alyqum, I`m wondering does Islam allow intermarrige
between different sects of Muslims? for example sunni and shia? Alhamdulillah I belong to a sunni
sect of Islam and wondering if it is permissible for a sunni
woman to marry a shia man who is a (Dawooi Bohra) having this
contract between them that they`ll be following their
own sects and will never interfere each other life when it comes to religious parctices. Also is it permissible for a sunni woman to marry a shia
(Bohri) man having this contract at the time of nikkah that the children will be following sunnism? I`ll be looking forward
for your reply. It is a very serious matter and I would like someone to help me
immediately. i do not want
to take a wrong decision. I really want to marry this guy but if it is not
permissible from islamic
point of view then I`m reday
to leave everything just for the sake of Allah subhana
tala. I`ve been trying to
solve this problem but still not suceeded yet. I also
have been trying to convince him to just read whatever is written in the Holy Quran with an open eyes but he is reluctant to do so. I
think few parctices that Bohris
do are shirk. like giving sajhda
to their holy priest. I tried asking this guy about giving sajhda
to their priest and he says they give sajhda to the
"dawat of Islam" not to the priest. And since
his priest is the one who has been guiding them they do it infront
of him.I`m not quite satisfied with his answer.
Please help me. I want to help this guy so much I don`t
care if I get married to him or not in future, but since I respect him and care
about him I want him to know what is the truth. I need a sincere Muslim person
who has knowledge and someone who would help me. It would be really nice of you
if u would please answer my question as soon as possible. I`ve
emailed Dr. Akhtar Emok and he gave me u`r email adress. Please help me
with this matter. Please its a sincere request from a
sister. a sister.
(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:
Permissible
for a Sunni lady to marry a Shia?
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`m wondering does Islam allow intermarriage between
different sects of Muslims? for example sunni and shia?
Every person who believes and worships
Allah Subhanah Alone and does not associate any
partners with Him; who believes in all the Messengers appointed by Allah; who
believes in Prophet Mohamed (saws) as the Last and Final Messenger; who believes in all the Books revealed by
Allah Subhanah;
who believes in the Glorious Quran as the
Final Message of our Merciful Lord; who
believes in the angels; who believes in
the concept of the Hereafter; and who
believes in the Divine Decrees; and declares the testification
of Islam: Laa Ilaaha Illalaah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah; is a believer and a muslim. Allah Subhanah has
not made the believers Shias, or Sunnis, or Ismailis, or Shafeis, or Bohras, etc. These are names man has invented for
himself! Every believer must be honored
to be recognized by the name that Allah has chosen for him, and Allah has
chosen to call the believers ‘muslims’
in the Glorious Quran.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj
verse 77-78:O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’
(prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it
may be that you attain true success!
Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has
not laid on you any hardship in your religion.
Therefore, be steadfast in the religion of your father Abraham. Allah had named you ‘muslims’ before this, and has named you (muslims) in this Quran also,
so that the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you, and you may be witnesses in regard to the
rest of mankind.
It is not important whether one
calls himself a Shia or a Sunni; what is important is
that one believes and sincerely obeys and follows the commands of Allah and His
Messenger (saws), and fears the advent of an Inevitable Day, when he will stand in the Just Court
of Allah to give a full accounting of his deeds.
Whatever differences there might
be between the believers, it is best to try and solve them with wisdom,
patience, and
in light of the Holy Quran and the traditions of the
Messenger of Allah (saws). It does not behove a believer to fight or abuse or ridicule or revile
his believing brother! No individual
has a right to force his beliefs on another!
One should always speak and declare the Truth from the Quran and Sunnah, and leave the
decision of who is on the Right Path and who is astray for Allah Subhanah to decide on the Day of Judgement.
Allah has allowed a believing
man to marry a non-mehram believing woman; thus a
marriage between a Shia and Sunni is absolutely legal
and permitted in Islam.
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 secret
intrigues.
Your Question: wondering if it is permissible for a sunni woman to marry a shia man who is a (Dawooi Bohra) having this contract between them that they`ll be following their own sects and will never
interfere each other life when it comes to religious parctices.
Also is it permissible for a sunni
woman to marry a shia (Bohri)
man having this contract at the time of nikkah that
the children will be following sunnism?
One can very well make the
contract that each partner in the marriage will follow his own beliefs, or that
neither will interfere in each others religious practices, or that the children
resulting from the marriage will follow one way of life! But the truth is that a marriage is not a
business transaction, whereby if one breaks the written agreement, the
transaction is invalid. A marriage in
Islam is a life-long commitment, and to make this commitment work, one has to
be careful in choosing his/her life partner who at least share
a similar ideology and belief; otherwise chances are that the agreement might
not work!
Your Question: I want to help
this guy so much I don`t care if I get married to him
or not in future, but since I respect him and care about him I want him to know
what is the truth. I need a sincere Muslim person who has knowledge and someone
who would help me. It would be really nice of you if u would please answer my
question as soon as possible.
Dear Sister in Islam, the best
way to make the person realize the Truth is that both of you first come to an
agreement on the things that are common in your beliefs:
Both of you believe that Allah Subhanah is our Creator and the Lord of everything that
exists.
Both of you agree on all the
Noble Attributes of Allah… like He is the All Just, All Powerful, All Mighty,
All Merciful, The Real King of
the Day of Judgement, etc.
Both of you agree that Allah Subhanah appointed Prophet Mohamed (saws) as His Last
Messenger (saws) unto mankind, and there is no Prophet after him.
Both of you agree that Allah Subhanah revealed the Holy Quran
to Prophet Mohamed (saws), as a guidance to mankind.
Both of you agree and make the Quran as the ‘Furqaan’ or
Criterion between the Truth and falsehood.
Both of you agree in the concept
of the Hereafter; that is, the reward of
Once you have an agreement on
the things that are common between your beliefs, you will realize that there
are only a few differences, and that too most of them are not in the deen or religion of Islam; but in the incidents and the
acts of the people related to the History of the Muslims! And if both of you agree to use the clear
guidance and teachings of the Glorious Quran as the
Criterion between Truth and falsehood; you can be sure that the Holy Quran will guide only to the Truth, and nothing makes the
Truth evident from the falsehood like the Holy Quran!
Allah says in Chapter
2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185:"Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for
mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a
Criterion of the Truth and falsehood."
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 17 Surah Bani Israel verse 81:And declare,
“The Truth has come and falsehood has vanished. And falsehood is a thing that must by its
nature, vanish!”
In our humble opinion, if you
could get the person to agree to read and understand the Holy Quran, and use that as the only Criterion, it is expected
that Allah Subhanah will guide both of you to the
Truth of Islam! The Bohras
generally are not allowed to understand the Glorious Quran
by their priests, and that is the main reason for their practices of sajdah to human beings and graves, unconditional obedience
to their ‘holy men’, etc. Once any Bohra (or for that matter any person) leaves aside his past
prejudice and beliefs, reads and accepts the Quran as
the Criterion between the Truth and falsehood, and begs Allah Subhanah
to guide him to the Truth… it is expected that Allah will help them determine
the Truth.
The reason any Bohra so faithfully practices his deen,
is not because he has the knowledge from the Holy Quran; but simply because
he was born into it and found his people and forefathers following a certain
way of life! This is the same reason
most people gave, when they denied the Message of all their Prophets that came to them with the
guidance from Allah Subhanah in the days gone
by!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 170-171:When it is
said to them, “Follow the Commands that Allah has sent down”, they reply, “We
will follow only what we found our forefathers practicing.” Well, will they go on following their
forefathers even though they did not use common sense and did not find the
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 31 Surah Luqman verse 21:And when it is said to them, “Follow what
Allah has sent down”, they say, “We
shall only follow that upon which we found our forefathers.” What!
Will they still be following them even if Shaitaan
had been calling them to the raging Fire?
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 43 Surah Zukhruf verse 22-25:Nay! But they say, “We found our forefathers on a
way and we are only walking in their footsteps.” Even so, whenever before you We sent a warner to a habitation, its people of means said, “We have
found our forefathers on a way and we are only following in their footsteps.” Every Prophet asked them, “Will you still go
on following the same old way even if I guide you to a more right way than that
you found your forefathers following?”
They replied, “We disbelieve the religion with which you have been
sent.” Consequently, We took vengeance on them. Just consider what was the
end of those who denied.
If you sincerely want to help
the brother understand Islam, then you must humbly and politely convince him to
read the Holy Quran with understanding, even only
once! And when any person, who has
normal intelligence and common-sense, reads the Holy Quran
without any prejudice and in search for the Truth; Allah Subhanah
will, Insha Allah,
guide them to the Truth of Islam.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 29:Proclaim, “This (Quran) is the Truth from your Lord: now whosoever wills may accept it, and
whosoever wills may reject it.” (As for those who reject it) We have prepared
for such workers of iniquity a fire whose flames have encircled them. There, if they as for water , they will be given a drink like the dregs of
oil, which will burn their mouths! What an evil drink, and what an evil abode!
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
Wister