Who Are The Women Of The People Of The Book Whom Muslims Are Permitted To Marry?
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
Thanks for
answering my question. I want to know what you mean
with marrying a Jew or christian who should had
chastity? Does touching and kissing forbidden before
marriage occurs? I have read in your anwers that you
tell muslim that the woman should be chaste. Is this
only with jew or christian girl or also, muslim woman?
Does touching and kisssing are included when you refer
to chastidy? What should be the advice given to a
muslim boy that thinks touching is necessary before
marriage?
I appreciate this to be confidencial. Thanks so much
for helping me.
Praise be to Allaah.
Abu Ja'far
Muhammad ibn Jareer al-Tabari gave a definition of
muhsanah in Jaami' al-Bayaan 'an Ta'weel
Aayi'l-Qur'aan (8/165):
"Muhsanah means the woman who is chaste and pure … one
who is chaste and protects her private parts from
committing immoral acts, as in the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): 'And Maryam, the
daughter of 'Imraan, who guarded her chastity…' [al-Tahreem
66:12], meaning that she kept herself above suspicious
actions and protected herself from immoral conduct."
Then he discussed the interpretation of the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): '… (lawful to you in
marriage) are chaste women from the believers and
chaste women from those who were given the Scripture
(Jews and Christians) before your time…' [al-Maa'idah
5:5]
He said that some others said that what was meant by
this aayah ('… (lawful to you in marriage) are chaste
women from the believers and chaste women from those
who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians)
before your time…') is chaste women from both groups,
whether they were slaves or free. Those who were of
this opinion considered it permissible to marry slave
women who were Jews or Christians who practised their
religions, because of this aayah, but they considered
it haraam to marry promiscuous women, whether they
were Muslims or from the People of the Book. Then he
mentioned reports to support this opinion.
He also said: 'There was some dispute among the
scholars about the interpretation of the phrase and
chaste women from those who were given the Scripture
(Jews and Christians) before your time…- was this
general or specific in application? Some said that it
is general and applies to all chaste women, because
muhsanaat means chaste women, and a Muslim is allowed
to marry any woman of the People of the Book, free or
slave, from a country whose people are engaged in
hostilities with Islam or from a community which is
living under Islamic rule. They use as evidence for
this the apparent meaning of the phrase and chaste
women from those who were given the Scripture (Jews
and Christians) before your time… - taking muhsanaat
to mean any chaste woman, whoever she may be. This is
the opinion of those who take muhsanaat to mean
"chaste women" in this context.
Others say that it refers only to the women of Jewish
and Christian communities who are living under Islamic
rule. As regards those living in regions that are
hostile to Islam, Muslims are not permitted to marry
such women.
He mentions an important condition for marrying a
woman of the People of the Book, which every Muslim
who wants to marry such a woman in a non-Muslim
country should pay attention to. This condition is
that he should be in a position where he is not afraid
that his child will be forced into kufr.
One of the obvious implications of this in our time is
that a Muslim should not put himself in a position
where he will be forced to raise his child as a kaafir
in a non-Muslim country, where a child may be forced
to study something about Christianity, for example, or
he may be taken to church on Sundays, or the law may
be on the side of the non-Muslim woman, allowing her
to take her child wherever she wants and raise him in
her family's religion, etc. We ask Allaah to keep us
safe from all that and we seek refuge with Him from
being forsaken.
Shaykh al-Sa'di said in his Tafseer (commentary on the
Qur'aan), 1/458:
"'… (lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women –
i.e., free and chaste - from the believers and chaste
women –free and chaste - from those who were given the
Scripture (Jews and Christians) before your time…'
i.e., from among the Jews and Christians. This is
adding specific details to the aayah (interpretation
of the meaning): 'And do not marry al-mushrikaat
(idolatresses, etc.) till they believe (worship Allaah
alone)…' [al-Baqarah 2:221]."
As for promiscuous women, those who do not keep
themselves chaste and free from immoral sexual
conduct, it is not permitted to marry them, whether
they are Muslims or from among the People of the Book
(Jews and Christians), unless they repent, because
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Let no
man guilty of fornication or adultery marry any but a
woman similarly guilty, or an unbeliever: nor let any
but such a man or an unbeliever marry such a woman: to
the Believers such a thing is forbidden." [al-Noor
24:3]
And Allaah knows best.
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