Interfaith marriage in Islam

In traditionalist interpretations of Islam, the permissibility for Muslims to engage in interfaith marriages is outlined by the Quran: it is permissible, albeit discouraged, for a Muslim man to marry Non-Muslim women as long as they are identified as being part of the "People of the Book" (Christians, Jews, and Sabians) and it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a Non-Muslim man.^[2] Thus, traditional interpretations of Islamic law do recognize the legitimacy of a Muslim man's marriage (nikaah) if he marries a Non-Muslim woman, but only if she is Jewish or Christian.^[3] On the other hand, a Muslim woman may not marry a Non-Muslim man.^[3][4] Additionally, it is required in Islam that the children of an interfaith marriage be Muslim.^[5][6]

Interfaith marriage between Muslims and Christians is discussed in the Ashtiname of Muhammad, a treaty between Muslims and Christians that was recorded between Muhammad and Saint Catherine's Monastery, which is depicted in this icon.^[1]

The tradition of reformist and progressive Islam, on the other hand, permits marriages between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men;^[7] Islamic scholars opining this view include Guyanese-American professor Khaleel Mohammed, American activist Daayiee Abdullah, and Sudanese politician Hassan al-Turabi, among others.^[8]

In some societies outside of Muslim-controlled territory, interfaith marriages between Muslims and Non-Muslims are not uncommon, including marriages that, in Sunni Islam, contradict the historic understanding of ijmāʿ (the consensus of fuqāha) as to the bounds of legitimacy.^[9]

Islamic tradition

See also: Marital conversion § Islam

Permissibility and conditions

In general, while Muslim men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women, the Quran instructs them to take measures to avoid such acts and instead marry Muslim women.^[3] No such allowances are made for Muslim women, for whom interfaith marriage is strictly forbidden.^[10] Muslim men who do engage in an interfaith marriage must ensure that the non-Muslim woman in question can be identified as being among the "People of the Book" and is actively religious; if she renounces her faith and does not convert to Islam, the marriage is automatically invalidated.^[3][2] Due to the complications associated with marrying a non-Muslim woman—particularly the possibility that the couple's children may choose to follow the wife's faith instead of Islam or be irreligious altogether—many Islamic scholars discourage or outright forbid all interfaith marriages.^[11]

For Muslim women

Although the Quran contains no explicit prohibition for Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men, some scholars argue that the fact that it only mentions the allowance for Muslim men means that Muslim women are prohibited from interfaith marriages.^[10] Kuwaiti-American professor Khaled Abou el-Fadl writes that he did not find a single Islamic scholar in classical jurisprudence who disagreed with the prohibition of marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men.^[12]

Conduct with Christian women

In the case of a Christian–Muslim marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Christian wife is not to be prevented from attending church nor from engaging in her own prayer and worship. This conduct is according to the Ashtiname of Muhammad, which was signed between Muhammad and Saint Catherine's Monastery in 623 CE.^[1][13]

Modern practice

Prevalence and attitudes

Despite Sunni Islam prohibiting Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men, interfaith marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men take place at substantial rates, contravening the traditional Sunni understanding of ijmāʿ.^[4][9][7] The modern tradition of reformist and progressive Islam has also come to permit marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men,^[7] with Islamic scholars opining this view including Khaleel Mohammed, Daayiee Abdullah, and Hassan al-Turabi, among others.^[8] In the United States, for example, about 10% of Muslim women are married to non-Muslim men, and about one in ten Muslims are married to non-Muslims overall, including about one in six Muslims under the age of 40 and about 20% of Muslims who describe themselves as less devoutly religious.^[14]

Recent studies on interfaith marriages in Muslim-majority countries have shown that parental attitudes remain more negative toward marriage of a daughter as compared to a son, and that "stronger religious belief was associated with more negative attitudes"; this was less in the case of Muslims who perceived Islam and Christianity as more similar than distinct.^[15]

Legality in Muslim-majority countries

In most Arab countries, interfaith marriages are allowed as long as the husband is Muslim and the wife is Jewish or Christian.^[16] There are, however, some Arab countries that do not enforce such laws: in Lebanon, there is no civil personal status law and marriages are performed according to the religion of the spouses; and it has been legal for women in Tunisia to marry men of any faith or of no faith since 2017.

Turkey allows marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men through secular laws.^[17] In Malaysia, a non-Muslim must convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim and any children produced from unions involving a Muslim are automatically registered as Muslims at birth.^[18]

See also

• Marriage in Islam
  • Women in Islam
• Interfaith marriage
  • Interfaith marriage in Judaism
  • Interfaith marriage in Christianity

• Islam and other religions
  • Islam and Judaism
  • Islam and Christianity

References

Citations

1. Ahmed, Akbar S. (11 January 2013). Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise. Routledge. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-134-92417-2. The Quran speaks favourably of the people of the Book. For example, Surah 3, verse 199, carries a universal message of goodwill and hope to all those who believe, the people of the Book irrespective of their religious label--Christian, Jew or Muslim. Muslims can marry with the people of the Book,
2. John L. Esposito, ed. (2014). "Ahl al-Kitab". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001. ISBN 9780195125580.
3. Leeman 2009, p. 755.
4. Elmali-Karakaya, Ayse (2020). "Being Married to a Non-Muslim Husband: Religious Identity in Muslim Women's Interfaith Marriages". In Hood, Ralph W.; Cheruvallil-Contractor, Sariya (eds.). Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion: A Diversity of Paradigms. Vol. 31. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 388–410. doi:10.1163/9789004443969_020. ISBN 978-90-04-44348-8. ISSN 1046-8064. S2CID 234539750.
5. Umarji, Osman (16 January 2020). "Will My Children Be Muslim? The Development of Religious Identity in Young People". Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
6. Ijaz, Helene (15 November 2018). "When Muslims Intermarry". The Interfaith Observer. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
7. Leeman 2009.
8. Jahangir, Junaid (21 March 2017). "Muslim Women Can Marry Outside The Faith". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
9. Ghouse, Mike (8 February 2017). "Can A Muslim Woman Marry A Non-Muslim Man?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
10. (Leeman 2009, p. 757):These passages are traditionally interpreted as a general prohibition on marriage outside Islam for Muslim women.116 Similar passages117 forbid Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim women. However, another verse specifically authorizes Muslim men to marry women from the People of the Book.118 The Qur’an offers no such express allowance (or prohibition) for Muslim women.119 Although the Qur’an contains no clear prohibition against marrying People of the Book, traditional scholars have reasoned: “If men needed to be given express permission to marry a [non-Muslim], women needed to be given express permission as well, but since they were not given any such permission then they must be barred from marrying a [non-Muslim].”
11. Leeman 2009, p. 756.
12. Leeman 2009, p. 758.
13. Timani, Hussam S.; Ashton, Loye Sekihata (29 November 2019). Post-Christian Interreligious Liberation Theology. Springer Nature. p. 196. ISBN 978-3-030-27308-8.
14. "Roughly one-in-ten married Muslims have a non-Muslim spouse". The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
15. Van Niekerk, Jana; Verkuyten, Maykel (2018). "Interfaith marriage attitudes in Muslim majority countries: A multilevel approach". The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. 28 (4): 257–270. doi:10.1080/10508619.2018.1517015. hdl:1874/373369. S2CID 149914334.
16. "The Need to Unify Personal Status Laws in Arab Countries". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009.
17. TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY LOVING: NATIONALITY, GENDER, AND RELIGION IN THE MUSLIM WORLD Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
18. "Marriage Procedures Between Muslim and Non-Muslim". Archived from the original on August 13, 2009.

Sources

• Leeman, A. B. (2009). "Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions" (PDF). Indiana Law Journal. 84 (2). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Maurer School of Law: 743–772. ISSN 0019-6665. S2CID 52224503. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2021.