Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His
Messenger.
Dear sister in Islam, we would like to thank you for the great confidence
you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause
and render our work for His Sake.
First of all, it is to be stressed that Islam does not encourage the
interfaith marriages. The general rule of Islam is that Muslims should
marry Muslims. A Muslim male or female should not marry a non-Muslim male
or female. The only exception is given to Muslim men who are allowed to
marry the chaste girls from among the People of the Book.
However, a Muslim woman is better suited to a Muslim man than a woman of
Christian or Jewish faith, regardless of her merits. This is because
marriage is not based on fulfilling one's sexual desires; rather, it is an
institution. It aims to establish a home on the bases of tranquility, faith
and Islamic morals. To fulfil this task, the whole family must apply
Allah's course and try to convey His message.
It is obvious that Islam made it impermissible for a Muslim woman to marry
a non-Muslim with aim of keeping her away from things that may jeopardize
her faith. In fact, Islam aims at protecting religion. To achieve this
goal, it prohibits a Muslim from being involved in something that
represents a threat to his religion. A Muslim woman will not feel that her
religion is secure while being with a Jewish or a Christian husband
especially as the majority of the People of the Book do not show due
respect to our Prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Allah Almighty says: "And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will
the Christians, till thou follow their creed. Say: Lo! The guidance of
Allah (Himself) is Guidance. And if thou shouldst follow their desires
after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then wouldst thou have from
Allah no protecting friend nor helper." (Al-Baqarah: 120)
Given the fact that the husband is generally the head of the household,
it's not far-fetched for a non-Muslim husband to prevent his Muslim wife from performing some Islamic rituals which may seem a nuisance to him, for
example fasting, or even refraining from marital relations during the fast.
As a result, he might force her to change her religion, and if she refuses,
the situation may culminate in divorce.
As for why Islam allows a Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman,
it's clear that every Muslim believes in Moses and Jesus (peace be upon
them) and he holds all the Prophets of Allah in high esteem. Thus a Muslim
finds no harm in his wife's being a Christian or a Jew, for the spirit of
tolerance Islam holds for other religions is ingrained in him.
In his response to the question you raised, the eminent Muslim scholar,
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti, member of the North American Fiqh Council,
states:
"If Allah is the one who prohibits a Muslim woman from marrying a
non-Muslim, then we as Muslims are supposed to believe it and to take it.
As a matter of faith, you cannot become a Muslim unless you accept
everything when it is ordained by Allah or carried out by his Messenger.
The Qur'an says, "O Ye who believe! Put not yourselves forward before Allah
and His Messenger." (Al-Hujurat: )
If you ask about the benefits of not marrying a non-Muslim, we can count
you many reasons. A man is the manager of his household. He will persecute
his Muslim wife in many dos and don'ts. She can hardly guarantee that kind
of operation. Moreover, marriage is an institution for elevating our levels
of having a good Islamic life. Pleasing Allah is our number one goal. If a
woman is married to a non-Muslim, maybe the only thing she will accomplish
in her marital life is what is good for livestock."
Shedding more light on the question, we'd like to cite the words of the
eminent Muslim scholar, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, in his well-known book,
The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam:
"It is haram for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, regardless of
whether he is of the People of the Book or not. We have already mentioned
the saying of Allah, "...and do not marry (your girls) to idolaters until
they believe..." (Al-Baqarah: 221)
And He said concerning the immigrant Muslim women: "Then if you know them
to be Believers, do not send them back to the unbelievers. They are not
lawful for them (as wives), nor are they lawful for them (as husbands)."
(Al-Mumtahanah: 10)
No text exists which makes exceptions for the People of the Book. Hence, on
the basis of the above verses, there is a consensus among Muslims
concerning this prohibition.
Thus, while a Muslim man is permitted to marry a Christian or Jewish woman,
a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Christian or Jewish man. There are
many sound reasons for this difference. First, the man is the head of the
household, the one who maintains the family, and he is responsible for his
wife. And while Islam guarantees freedom of belief and practice to the
Christian or Jewish wife of a Muslim, safeguarding her rights according to
her own faith, other religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, do not
guarantee the wife of a different faith freedom of belief and practice, nor
do they safeguard her rights. Since this is the case, how can Islam take
chances on the future of its daughters by giving them into the hands of
people who neither honor their religion nor are concerned to protect their
rights?
A marriage between a man and woman of different faiths can be based only on
the husband's respect for his wife's beliefs; otherwise a good relationship
can never develop. Now, the Muslim believes that both Judaism and
Christianity originated in divine revelation, although later distortions
were introduced into them. He also believes that God revealed the Tawrah to
Moses and the Injeel to Jesus, and that both Moses and Jesus (peace be on
them) were among the Messengers of Allah who were distinguished by their
steadfast determination. Accordingly, the Christian or Jewish wife of a
Muslim lives under the protection of a man who respects the basic tenets of
her faith, her Scripture, and her Prophets, while in contrast to this the
Jew or Christian recognizes neither the Divine origin of Islam, its Book,
or its Prophet (peace be on him). How then could a Muslim woman live with
such a man, while her religion requires of her the observance of certain
worships, duties, and obligations, as well as certain prohibitions. It
would be impossible for the Muslim woman to retain her respect for her
beliefs as well as to practice her religion properly if she were opposed in
this regard by the master of the house at every step.
It will be realized from this that Islam is consistent with itself in
prohibiting the Muslim man to marry a mushrik (polytheist) woman, for since
Islam is absolutely opposed to shirk (polytheism), it would obviously be
impossible for two such people to live together in harmony and love."
<islamguide@islamway.net>
موضوع: Why a Muslim Woman Is Not Allowed to Marry a Non-Muslim Man 
السبت سبتمبر 06, 2008 11:20 pm
