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-O-ALAIKUM.

I would like to ask couple of questions relating to Islam.Can a muslim girl marry a hindu man?If she wants to  convert  a man then,how can she proceed? If he dose not want to, then is there any mid way for social settelment? What  if a girl or a boy are not of same religion  feel  for each other?Won't it called as love if seen in humanitarian point of view? How can they forget each other?Could you please reply back explicitely the details of these queries?Who comes first:religion or humanity?

f Allah is one then why did he create separations between his own creation?It will be of great help for all momeens those who someway or other grinding their mind in this regard.Your response would be appreciated highly. Khudahafiz.

My friend is having a relationship with a hindu boy from past 6 yrs.She really loves him a lot.She is aware of the islamic implications, but she can`t leave him.Both the boy and the girl have decided that they will not convert. Maximum the boy will perform nikha on condition that she has her hindu wedding also. This ritual would be only for the sake of acceptance.Is such marriage allowed in islam?If it is not allowed is it fair to leave her lover after 6 yrs only because of religion for no fault of his?What religion should the children follow?Will the children be legitimate?

Is love not the greatest religion? Will there be social acceptance for the girl, if she goes ahead and marries the boy with nikah and inturn does hindu marriage, but for the rest of her life she follows islam and not hinduism ? 

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Answer:

Is love not the greatest religion?

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.

Q-1: Both the boy and the girl have decided that they will not convert.Maximum the boy will perform nikha on condition that she has her hindu wedding also. This ritual would be only for the sake of acceptance.Is such marriage allowed in islam?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 221:

Do not marry ‘mushrik’ women unless they believe. A slave woman who believes is better than a free woman who does not believe, even though the latter may appear very attractive to you. Likewise, do not wed your women to ‘mushrik’ men, unless they believe. A slave man who believes, is better than a free man who does not believe, even though he may be very pleasing to you. These ‘mushriks’ invite you to the Fire while Allah, by His Grace, invites you to the Gardens and His Pardon. He makes His Revelations plain to the people so that they should learn a lesson, and follow the admonition.

The truth of the matter is that if the boy converts to Islam and performs the Nikaah ceremony with the muslim girl; in the sight of the believers, the boy will be deemed a believer and the marriage will be legal. All the rights that are due to the believer will be accorded to the boy.

This is because, the believers cannot open the heart of the boy and see what are his real intentions, unless of course, he speaks them out verbally.

But Allah Subhanah is the Knower of all things, and He Knows even the deepest secrets of our hearts and our inner-most intentions. If the boy converts only for the sake of marriage and not because he has truly accepted Islam as his Way of Life, then in the sight of Allah this marriage will not be valid. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is hidden from the Lord of the Worlds!

If your friend, who is a believer, knows the intention of the Hindu boy, she must fear Allah and the consequences of her disobeying a direct command of Allah Subhanah by marrying a ‘mushrik’ boy.

Q-2: If it is not allowed is it fair to leave her lover after 6 yrs only because of religion for no fault of his?

Firstly, if was not fair or right for a believing woman to have a ‘lover’ for one moment, leave alone six years; if indeed she fears Allah and the Last Day!

The issue with today’s ungodly world is that we accept whatever the world offers us, but always challenge the Divine Laws of the Creator. One only turns to the ‘rituals’ of religion at the time of marriage, death, etc. Other than that, most of the people don’t want to know what are the boundaries set upon them by their Creator. They follow their own lusts and desires, and go after the mirage of this transient world; without realizing the reality of the span of this worldly life compared to the hereafter!

It might not seem fair to the boy and girl, if one looks at it from a temporary time view and angle; but if one puts his trust in the Perfectness and Infallibility of the Creator, there will come a day when one will have to admit that the Divine Laws are as perfect as everything else done and decreed by the Creator. But oftentimes, it is too late to turn back the clock on the deeds which one did in ignorance.

The Divine Laws were Decreed by the One, Who is Perfect and Absolute in everything that He does. He never errs and He never makes a mistake! His Laws are not only fair, they are just and equitable, and based on His Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge.

Q-3: What religion should the children follow?

In Islam, the children will always follow the religion of the father. And since no believing woman is allowed to marry a non-muslim man, the children born of a muslim father will always follow the religion of their father.

But in your friend’s case, where the father will only convert as a legality; and both the girl and boy have agreed to follow their own religions….it could go either way.

Q-4: Will the children be legitimate?

If the boy converts from Hinduism to Islam, even for only meeting the minimum legal requirements, the children will be deemed legal and legitimate in the sight of the believers and Islamic Law.

Q-5: Is love not the greatest religion?

Love is not a religion; but an emotion and feeling of belonging that the Creator has put into the hearts of His Creation.

Religion is something which is a way of life, and the greatest religion has to be the one which has been Decreed and approved by the One Who Created everything in existence. And the religion that the Creator has approved for his created beings is one wherein the created live and submit their desires, their will, and their lives to the Will of the Creator. And the Creator has named this Way of Life approved by Him, Al Islam.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Al Maidah verse 3:

Today I (Allah) have perfected your deen for you and completed my Blessing on you, and approved Islam as your Way of Life.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verse 19:

Indeed, Islam in the ONLY right Way of Life in the sight of Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verse 85:

And whoever adopts any other than this way of Islam, that way shall not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter, he shall be among the losers.

Q-6: Will there be social acceptance for the girl,if she goes ahead and marries the boy with nikah and inturn does hindu marriage, but for the rest of her life she follows islam and not hinduism ? 

This is obviously a hypothetical question, and only the One Who has the knowledge of the future can predict accurately what will happen.

In our humble opinion, and I have personally seen several such cases; it is not easy on the girl. All these feelings and passions that are so prevalent today, will soon get tuned in with reality; and the outcome is not always easy for the girl to bear on her own. Often times, by the time the girl realizes her error of challenging and going against the Divine Commands of her Creator, it is too late and rather impossible for her to turn back the process of time, and she has to learn to live with mistakes she has made.

There is a very important and thought provoking statement made in the English literature: An intelligent person learns from his own mistakes; but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others!

And our experience has been that whoever obeys and follows the commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), even though they might temporarily have to sacrifice their desires, in the long run they will never ever go wrong or have regrets; in this world and in the life of the hereafter.

But whoever challenges and goes against the commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), even though they may temporarily gain some benefit; in the long run it always ends in a disaster; in this world, and definitely in the life of the Hereafter!

In conclusion, our sincere advice to your friend is not to go through with the current arrangement she has made with the boy, whereby he will convert to Islam only for the marriage ceremony. It would be prudent and wise of her to convince him to read the Holy Quran, and only if his heart is completely satisfied, convert to Islam. That is the only way she can marry the one she loves, keep her religion, secure the religion of her children, be completely accepted by society, and above all, align herself to the Wise commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws). This is the only way she will be able to gain contentment and success in the life of this world and the Hereafter.

May Allah Subhanah help her and guide her to make the right choice, which will effect not only her life of this world, but also the eternal and everlasting life of the Hereafter.

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