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 alykum,

thanks for replying for my last question. If u remember last time i hav sent a question whether i can marry an athiest as he has promised to convert after marriage. i have sent your answer to him, and now he says dat he is ready to convert before marriage.

1.)Now If we get married, he wants to stay with his parents along with me. but wot i heard was that, v shud`nt eat food made by non-muslims. but if we stay with his parents, then definetly we have to eat the same food. So, what should we do in such case?

i will be more than thankful if u can help me with this in the light of Quran anf Hadees. Jaza kallah.

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Answer:

Marry Atheist and food

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 Statement: i have sent your answer to him, and now he says dat he is ready to convert before marriage.

Dear and beloved sister in Islam, although the simple declaration of the testimony of faith or ‘shahaadah’ would suffice for one to be considered a ‘muslim’ in the Sight of Shariah Law…..as your brothers and sincere well-wishers in faith, our humble advice to you is to make absolutely sure that the brother has not declared the ‘shahaadah’ only to accommodate the legal conditions of marriage, but faith has completely entered into his heart before you decide to unite with him in the sacred bond of marriage.

If faith has not truly entered into the brothers heart and he has, Allah forbid, only declared the ‘shahaadah’ to enable him to legally marry you….after he had fulfilled his desire with you in marriage, he might choose to revert back to his old deen and you would have brought upon yourself a trial the burden of which you might not be able to bear!

Thus my beloved sister, it is absolutely imperative that before you marry the brother, you are completely satisfied that faith has truly entered his heart and he has not become a ‘muslim’ only to fulfill the legal condition of marrying a believing sister.

Your Question: Now If we get married, he wants to stay with his parents along with me. but wot i heard was that, v shud`nt eat food made by non-muslims. but if we stay with his parents, then definetly we have to eat the same food. So, what should we do in such case?

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 (Jews and Christians) is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them.

Beloved Sister in Islam, if the parents of the brother you choose to marry are from amongst the People of the Book, provided the food itself is not unlawful in its essence (swine, alcohol, etc.), all such food provided in the house of our Jewish or Christian brethren would be deemed lawful for the believers to consume.

If the parents of the brother you choose to marry are from the ‘mushriks’ (Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc.), then any meat which has not been duly slaughtered according to Shariah would be unlawful for the believers to consume.

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

3 Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah, that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety.

Provided the meat of an animal which is not unlawful in its essence (dead before slaughter, swine, animal which hunt with fangs {dogs, tigers, etc.}, or birds which hunt with claws {crows, eagles, etc.}); and the animal is duly slaughtered according to Shariah, then regardless of who cooks the food, all such food is lawful for the believers to consume.

Islam only prohibits the believers from consuming the flesh of animals which are declared unlawful (dead before slaughter, swine, animal which hunt with fangs {dogs, tigers, etc.}, or birds which hunt with claws {crows, eagles, etc.}); and any animal which has not been slaughtered either by a muslim or by a Jew or a Christian.

All other food, regardless of who cooks or serves it, would be considered absolutely lawful for the believers to consume.

Beloved Sister, if you could kindly clarify the deen of the parents of the brother in whose house you wish to live and the whether or not the country they reside in is a muslim or non-muslim nation, we would be better able to guide you regarding the permissibility of the food.

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