Muslim men are allowed to marry chaste women from the people of the book.
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:
Assalamoalaikum
Burhan Bhai
Marriage
and people of the book?
Muslim
men are allowed to marry chaste women from the people of the book, but given
the state of affairs in this day and age, should the person one is going to
marry revert to Islam or is she allowed to remain a Jew or a Christian after
marriage?
Jazakallah
Khair
(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:
Marry christians of today
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verse 5:
5 This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful
unto you and yours is lawful unto them.
(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 anyone
rejects faith fruitless is his work and in the Hereafter he will be in the
ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).
Allah Subhanah has permitted and allowed the believing men
to marry chaste honorable women from amongst the People of the Book (Jews and
Christians), if they wish and desire to do so.
The marriage of a believing man to a chaste honorable Jew or Christian
sister, even if she chooses not to accept and revert to Islam before their marriage
will be absolutely legal and lawful in the Sight of Shariah Law.
Beloved brother in Islam, just as any woman (or man) who
declares the testification of faith in Allah and His Last Messenger will be
regarded as a legal ‘muslim’ in the Sight of Shariah Law, any woman who is born
into or professes their belief as a Jew or a Christian will be regarded as one
amongst the ‘People of the Book’ in the Sight of Shariah Law. Just as the marriage of the legal ‘muslim’
who has declared the testification of faith is considered lawful in Shariah
Law, a marriage between a believing man and an eligible sister from amongst the
‘People of the Book’ will be absolutely lawful and legal in the Sight of
Shariah Law.
There is a huge misunderstanding and confusion in the Muslim
Ummah today that the People of the Book of today are not the same and they
commit shirk, therefore the laws of the permissibility of their food and the
marriage with their woman are forbidden to the believers. Allah Subhanah Himself in the Quran declares
that the People of the Book commit shirk and are disbelievers, but in spite of
that He has given them a special status as the People of the Book to them, and
made it permissible for the believers to marry amongst their woman and eat of
their food; if they wish to do so.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah
Taubah verse 30:
30 The Jews call Uzair a son of Allah and the Christians call Christ
the son of Allah!
That is a saying from their mouths; (in this) they but imitate what the
unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's
curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verses 72-73:
72 They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ, the son of
Mary." But said Christ: "O
children of
73 They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for
there is no god except One Allah. If
they desist not from their word (of blasphemy) verily a grievous penalty will
befall the blasphemers among them.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisaa verse 171:
171 O people of the Book! Commit
no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but Truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more
than) a Messenger of Allah, and His Word which He bestowed on Mary, and a
Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will
be better for you: for Allah is One Allah: Glory be to Him: (a Exalted is He)
above having a son! To Him belong all
things in the heavens and on earth. And
enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
Even when the Quran was being revealed, the Christians
believed in the falsehood that Prophet Jesus (a.s.) was (I seek refuge in
saying this!) the son of Allah Subhanah!
But in spite of their this false belief and blasphemy, Allah Subhanah
has permitted the believers to marry amongst the chaste woman of the People of
the Book, if they choose to do so.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 221:
221 Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters) until they believe; a slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman
even though she allure you. Nor marry
(your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: a man slave who believes is
better than un unbeliever even though he allure 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.
Indeed, Allah Subhanah has forbidden the believers to
marry amongst the ‘mushriks’ (polytheists or idolators). Even though the Quran holds the Jews and the
Christians guilty of the abominations of blasphemy, disbelief and ‘shirk’;
Allah refers to them as the People of the Book because unlike the other
‘mushriks’, the People of the Book in essence believe in the true concept of monotheism
or One God through the Divine Scriptures that Allah Subhanah sent towards them,
but they themselves twisted the Truth and invented false beliefs without any
authority.
Besides believing in the essence of monotheism, the People
of the Book believe in all the other aspects of faith: ie. in the concept of
the Messengers, in the concept of Divine Books, in the concept of the Angels,
in the concept of
Therefore the statement that the People of the Book at the
time of the Revelation of the Quran and the People of the Book now are not the
same and thus the laws of permissibility of marriage and food towards them do
not apply are absolutely baseless and false!
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, Allah Subhanah Alone
has the Right to declare what is lawful and what is unlawful, and just as it is
a grave sin for one to declare lawful what Allah has declared as unlawful
(swine, wine, gambling, etc.); it is also a grave sin to declare unlawful what
the Lord Himself has declared as lawful.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 116:
But say not for any false thing that your
tongues may put forth "This is halaal and this is haraam!", so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah
will never prosper.
Allah Subhanah has declared it lawful for the believers to
consume the food of the People of the Book and to marry amongst their chaste
women, if one wishes to do so…thus let no one convince you otherwise!
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister