Can Muslim women marry Jewish Christians men?

[Doc]

Salaam bro Joseph / all. - I noted a question on another forum below. I also had this question whether Muslim women can marry Jewish / Christian men? Thanks Doc. 

http://www.salaatforum.com/index.php?id=1598

[Joseph Islam]

Salamun Alaikum,

Please see the following article which addresses your question.

MARRIAGE WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
http://quransmessage.com/articles/marriage%20with%20people%20of%20the%20book%20FM3.htm

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.

[Doc]

Thanks bro Joseph for the link.   

[F]

Dear Joseph A. Islam,

Peace be upon you,

I read your article regarding the Quran is silent of weather Muslim women should marry non-Muslim man i.e. People of the book "Jews and Christians".
http://quransmessage.com/articles/marriage%20with%20people%20of%20the%20book%20FM3.htm

According to Quran, it's clearly tell us it is impermissible.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا جَاءَكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ وَآتُوهُم مَّا أَنفَقُوا وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ وَاسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْأَلُوا
مَا أَنفَقُوا ذَٰلِكُمْ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ   الممتحنة (10)
Pickthall: O ye who believe! When believing women come unto you as fugitives, examine them. Allah is Best Aware of their faith. Then, if ye know them for true believers, send them not back unto the disbelievers. They are not lawful for them (the disbelievers), nor are they (the disbelievers) lawful for them. And give them (the disbelievers) that which they have spent (upon them). And it is no sin for you to marry such women when ye have given them their dues. And hold not to the ties of disbelieving women; and ask for (the return of) that which ye have spent; and let them (the disbelievers) ask for that which they have spent. That is the judgment of Allah. He judgeth between you. Allah is Knower, Wise.

Allah prohibited the returning of the believers females to the disbelievers. Returning means that they will either reside, work, marry, etc. from them. I also read your articles that Quran tells us that Christian and Jewish are People of the book, and not Kafir (disbelievers). So, it's necessary automatic all of them are disbelievers.

لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ  المائدة (17) Verily they are unbelievers who say: "The Messiah, son of Mary, is God."
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ   التوبة (30)                             
The Jews say: "Ezra is the son of God;" the Christians say: "Christ is the son of God." That is what they say with their tongues following assertions made by unbelievers before them. May they be damned by God: How perverse are they!

I heard many claims from my Muslims fellows that Jews told them that it's not true, they don't call Ezra "son of God". I told them who do you believe, Allah or the Jewish! They said that they may used to say it but not any more. I said, did you open their hearts and verify that they are telling the truth! I told them, is not today we hear them saying in their tongues that they are the children of God (including the Christians)!
وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ انتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ النساء (171) and do not call Him 'Trinity'. Abstain from this for your own good; for God is only one God, and far from His glory is it to beget a son.

Your argument that how about those among the Christian and Jewish that they do good actions. Quran said:
ان الله لا يغفر ان يشرك به ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء ومن يشرك بالله فقد افترى اثما عظيما   النساء (48)
Yusuf Ali: Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.

How about these verses:
تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا   مريم (90)     
Yusuf Ali: At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin,
أَن دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ وَلَدًا   مريم (91) Pickthall: That ye ascribe unto the Beneficent a son,   

Is not today all sects of Christians and Jewish ascribe themselves that they are the children of God.
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ نَحْنُ أَبْنَاءُ اللَّهِ وَأَحِبَّاؤُهُ المائدة (18)  Yusuf Ali: (Both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are sons of Allah, and his beloved."

Regarding the deeds they do:
وَقَدِمْنَا إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَّنثُورًا   الفرقان (23)   
Yusuf Ali: And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did (in this life), and We shall make such deeds as floating dust scattered about.

According to the above it's clearly that it's impermissible. However, there is still one argument of how about those who never heard about Quran from People of the book "Jews and Christians" or any other creed and are doing good actions.

وَمِن قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ   الأعراف (159) 
Sahih International: And among the people of Moses is a community which guides by truth and by it establishes justice.

وَمِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ   الأعراف (181)
Sahih International: And among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice.

That's fine but Allah also said:
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا   الإسراء (15) We never punish till We have sent a messenger.
Therefore, it's a duty (obligation) of a Muslim female to deliver the message of Allah (Quran) to the disbeliever man that is planning to marry before she marry him, and if he accepts it, then ONLY in this situation can marry him. 

And if you choose not to deliver for him the message of Quran before marriage, you should know that Allah also forbid you even to reside with him in the same house if you hear him saying we are the children of God.
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِّثْلُهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا   النساء (140)
Pickthall: He hath already revealed unto you in the Scripture that, when ye hear the revelations of Allah rejected and derided, (ye) sit not with them (who disbelieve and mock) until they engage in some other conversation. Lo! in that case (if ye stayed) ye would be like unto them. Lo! Allah will gather hypocrites and disbelievers, all together, into hell;

النساء (94) يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوا وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا
Yusuf Ali: O ye who believe! When ye go abroad in the cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: "Thou art none of a believer!"
He must first utter his believe (testimony), and then during engagement period, you must ensure as much as possible that he is following Quran i.e. pray, doesn't gamble (lottery), doesn't drink alcohol, etc. One may say how do I know if he is not lying (acting) during engagement, since Allah alone knows what is in the heart. In this situation, there will be no blame on you because you have followed what Allah has ordered you to do. However, the minute you discover during marriage that he is associating others with God (Shirk) and he doesn't desist, then you must immediately divorce him.
وَلَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَابٌ يَنطِقُ بِالْحَقِّ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ   المؤمنون (62)
Sahih International: And We charge no soul except [with that within] its capacity, and with Us is a record which speaks with truth; and they will not be wronged.

With peace and respect,

[Amira]

Salam,

You said it was fully impermissible at first, which is not true. The issue is not mentioned explicitly in the Quran.

[F]

Peace be upon you,

اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
Pickthall: Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He bringeth them out of darkness into light. (22:257)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ                
Sahih International: O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people. (5:51)
             
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَكُمْ هُزُوًا وَلَعِبًا مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَالْكُفَّارَ أَوْلِيَاءَ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ                                                         
Pickthall: O Ye who believe! Choose not for guardians such of those who received the Scripture before you, and of the disbelievers, as make a jest and sport of your religion. But keep your duty to Allah if ye are true believers. (5:57)                   

وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ
Pickthall: And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the Christians, till thou follow their creed. (2:120)

Allah clearly told us that the people of the book "Jews and Christians" will never be happy from us till we follow their religion. How then would you expect him to love you and be loyal to you!!! Then, one may argue is that Allah allowed Muslim men to marry from chaste women from the "people of the book", and did not say anything about Muslim women marrying from the chaste men from the "people of the book". This is absolutely incorrect. Allah clearly said that man is in charge of woman:
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ
Yusuf Ali: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other (4:34)

For peaceful people from all creed, Allah ordered us to be nice and just with them only.
لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ  
Pickthall: Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers. (60:

May Allah guide all mankind to the straight path.

With peace and respect,

[Joseph Islam]

Dear F,

As-salamu alaykum and welcome to the forum!

Firstly, with respect and as I trust that you will appreciate, it is neither efficient nor effective for me to cover the same ground / questions/ arguments which I have already repeatedly discussed and have dedicated writings shared within the public space.

However, with utmost respect, I do not agree with what appears to be your traditionalist position that one cannot be friends with Jews and Christians in toto. This has been discussed in the following link shared below.

Taking unbelievers as friends to avoid harm
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=260

The Quran foremost was referencing a particular contingent and even so, the remit of the guidance was clear, that this only referred to those that made a mockery or sport / ridiculed the faith.

005:057
"O ye who believe! take not for friends / allies / protectors (awliyaa) those who take your religion for a mockery or sport / ridicule or fun (huzuwan wala'iban), whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject faith; but fear ye God, if ye have faith (indeed)"



Secondly, it appears that you do not appear to recognise that all People of the Book are not 'disbelievers' or 'idolaters'. I have discussed this in some details in the following article.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK (JEWS & CHRISTIANS)
http://quransmessage.com/articles/people%20of%20the%20book%20FM3.htm



Finally, I believe once the above concepts are cleared / studied from a Quranic context, then the following topic is better understood.

MARRIAGE WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
http://quransmessage.com/articles/marriage%20with%20people%20of%20the%20book%20FM3.htm

I trust that this assists. Please kindly note that I will not be revisiting topics or arguments which I have already discussed in much detail within the public space.

Of course, if other kind, knowledgeable brothers and sisters on this forum want to continue the discussion with you, that is their kind / respected prerogative.

Regards,
Joseph

[F]

Dear Joseph,

Peace be upon you,

Thank you kindly for taking the time to review my posts and for your reply.

You mentioned in your post: "I do not agree with what appears to be your traditionalist position that one cannot be friends with Jews and Christians in toto."

I said in my previous post: "For peaceful people from all creed, Allah ordered us to be nice and just with them only. (Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers.)" (60:

Let me explain to you what I meant with (peaceful people) and (nice and just) by giving some examples.

1) (peaceful people): are those who "warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes". Please note that this is not only to the people of the book (Christians and Jewish), it's for all religions i.e. Hindus, Sikhism, Buddhism, etc. Also note that I am talking here about the public, not governments, because those who want to marry, they marry from the public, not from the rulers and their administrators. However, even though if a certain person from the public want to harm us, we should not deal with him/her. 

2) (nice and just): you should show them kindness and deal justly with them i.e. you can be friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. and for instance, when you work with them, you must be loyal and do your best improve the quality of their products; and so on.
 
I myself have few non-Muslim friends including Christian that we visit each others on a regular basis and I explained to them that I can't sit with them in the same room if they drink alcohol; I was a regular blood donor for the Canadian blood Services but later my doctor told me that I can't donate anymore due to health reasons; I always donate used clothes/food to non-Muslim organizations; and many other things.

You also mentioned: "Secondly, it appears that you do not appear to recognise that all People of the Book are not 'disbelievers' or 'idolaters'."

I said in my previous posts that those Muslim women who want to marry Christian or Jewish men MUST
1) Investigate carefully to ensure that he is not associating Jesus (PBUH) with Allah or associate Ezra with Allah or believe that they are the children of Allah. According to Quran, in many verses, those who associate anything with Allah are Moshrikeen / Kaafir (disbelievers), will never enter heaven, and will never get out of hell fire.
Sahih International: Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. (5:72)
Also, according to Quran, Allah does not forgive those who associate anything with Him.
Sahih International: Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray. (4:116)

2) If he associates anything with Allah, she must deliver for him Quran before marriage. I gave few references to Quran, and will give another reference.
Sahih International: Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture - those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse, (2:159)

3) If he refused to follow principles of Quran and continue to associate others with Allah, I don't see any reason of why she should continue with him.
Pickthall: And incline not toward those who do wrong lest the Fire touch you, and ye have no protecting friends against Allah, and afterward ye would not be helped. (11:113)

I hope this illustrates that Muslim women are not allowed to marry from Christian or Jewish unless he accepts the principles of Quran. I would welcome any feedback from any member.

May Allah guide all of us to the straight path.

With Peace and respect,

Brother Joseph: please note that I am unable to use the toolbar buttons in the forum. Once you have a moment, please enable me to use it because sometimes I need to change font size, color, etc. Thanks  

[wanderer]

It seems you are in agreement, then, with Joseph's article. No Muslim (male or female) can marry a person who associates others with God. With all due respect, I do not see what your issue is.
PS: I also hope you also know that modern-day Judaism DOES NOT believe Ezra/Uzair is the Son of God. Such a belief was only ever a fringe practice of some of the Arabian Jews of the Prophet's time.
Regards
wanderer

[F]

Salam,

(3:64) Sahih International: Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]."

(7:157) Sahih International: Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.

(67:3) Pickthall: Lo! We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or disbelieving.

(90:10) Mohsin Khan: And shown him the two ways (good and evil)?

Regards,