A SUMMARY OF THE TREATISE:
“MARRIAGE
TO THE AHLE KITAAB AND THE GENERAL HARM CAUSED TO MUSLIM YOUTH”
Allah
Ta’ala has created women and men as complementary partners to each
other. Concerning women and their role with men, Allah says “So
that you (men) find rest and joy in them” (30:21). While He has
made woman the ‘queen’ and the mother in her home He has charged
men with the responsibility of seeing to the needs of their
women-folk, and their wives.
Therefore,
in marriage, one has to choose a spouse who has the same spiritual
outlook and who has adopted Islam as his or her way of life and be
able to fulfill the requisite roles. He or she must have the correct
Aqaaid (beliefs) and practically manifest these in the performance
of Salăh and fasting, etc. Concerning a woman who possesses such
qualities Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said, “The woman who performs her
five daily Salaat, guards her chastity and obeys her husband, can
enter Jannah b y whichever door she desires”. (Sahih Ibn Hibaan).
It
is clearly evident that these noble attributes can only be found in
a pious Muslim woman since the Deen
is the only true enhancer of character and protection against vile
qualities. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) also said, “The best of goodness for a man
after the Taqwa (fear) of Allah is a pious wife, If he instructs
her, she obeys him. If he looks at her, she makes him happy. If he
takes an oath vouching for her, she upholds him, and when he is away
from her, She guards herself (her chastity) and his wealth (Ibn
Maajah).
A
woman is the first and everlasting Madrassah for her children and
the guardian of her home. Her adornment of herself with noble
qualities and beautiful character will invariably pass on to her
children and all the people in her home. Therefore, the Hadith has
it that: “Choose the one who is religious, otherwise you will be
dishonoured." (Muslim)
Now,
when a Mu’min (believer)
is exhorted to choose a pious Muslim woman as his marriage partner
as against an impious Muslim woman, this is all the more reason why
he should not marry a Kitaabiyyah.
Firstly, she has no Deen.
Then, our experience too has taught us that most of the children of
such unions end up as Ahle-Kitaab,
since children identify more easily with their mothers. They spend
more time with them, follow their example and accept their teachings
whether good or bad, even more easily. According to the author, this
has been witnessed on a large scale in Lebanon and Egypt. In many
countries, one will find that daughters of such marriages prefer
marrying Christians because of the encouragement and influence of
their mothers. And this is totally HARAAM in Islam. It occurs
especially when the father dies, and the mother’s influence and
control is now consolidated on her children. So, the children are
nurtured according to the Christian mother’s way of life and
belief. Not long afterwards, they begin to soil their chests with
the symbol of the cross and gradually re-inforce their inclination
toward Christianity. In other words, it is as if the father of such
children had voluntarily surrendered his own children into the dens
of kufr, and opened for then the gate of Jahannam.
Many
young people who favour such marriages seem to be unduly impressed
by the mannerism of the kuffar
and this is due to their own lack of appreciation of the real value
of Islam in their lives. Such people cannot be expected to yield
real Islamic influence on their own children’s deeds and
character. According to a well-known maxim, the period of youth has
been referred to as a period of madness. Therefore, we find that
very seldom do the youth carefully consider the consequences of
their actions.
Another
disadvantage of such a marriage is that when such a woman dies, the
Muslim husband does not inherit from her estate because of the
principle of ‘the difference of religion’ according to nas
(explicit textual evidence) and ijmá
(consensus).
Another
argument presented in support of such marriages is that these women
are generally well- educated and possess very refined manners. As
Muslims, we should realize that the western educational system which
these women have been put through is in reality the pinnacle of Jahl
(ignorance) and Dalaal
(deviation). They have been nurtured on such a way of life that
condones and takes a very lenient view on intoxicants,
disobedience to Allah
and the Kufr belief in the divinity of Eesa (AS). Among the ideals of
western education today, is the silly feminist notion of the
“freedom” of women which has it
that a woman should do whatever she wills independently and
without subjecting herself to the authority of a husband, or any
other male in her life. Imagine the consequences of this, when,
apart from being one of defective intelligence, her education has
now further impaired her ability to discern good from bad and
ignorance from knowledge.
Without
doubt, a Muslim woman is definitely purer in her ways, manners,
cleanliness and refinement of character. Allah Ta’ala declares:
“And a believing slave woman is better than an idolateress even
though she may allure you” (2:22).
Yes,
the heathen woman is proficient in her language and can read and
write very well. But this is nothing as against the evils she has
been subtly indoctrinated to accept as permissible and a normal part
of life, like zina,
wine-drinking, nakedness and shamelessness, etc. It is the same
educational system which robs her of her modesty and allows her to
swim nakedly and in the full gaze of men, and to travel long
distances all by herself. It has also taught her to freely and
closely associate with whomsoever she wishes and to even remain with
him in privacy. Hence, there can hardly be any surprise when such
people accept, among other things, that zina is not wrong unless in the case of rape or in the bedroom of
the husband. Modern-day Christian (western) societal norms also
dictate that a woman rises above her husband’s authority. What a
world of difference between a woman of such a background and a
Muslim woman, brought up in a pure, pristine home, on a wholesome
existence, higher ideals and believing in the importance of physical
and spiritual purity.
Another
argument in favour of marrying such women is that this is
permissible according to the Qur’an. Here, it should be understood
that the permissibility was in order to facilitate the entry of
Christians into Islam and to spread Islam among other nations, as
well as for the purpose of demonstrating to non-Muslims the
generosity of Islam. In the golden, early days of Islam, when Islam
reigned supreme above all other religions, whenever
a woman married a Muslim, she would, after observing her
husband’s Islamic and pure way of life, accept his beliefs, and willingly become a Muslim. History bears ample testimony
to this.
Another
pre-condition for the permissibility of marrying such women is that
they must be Muhsana
(chaste). Allah says,
“And those who are chaste from among those who were given
the book before you” (5:5). In the light of this, it is no secret
that the majority of Christian girls today do not fulfill this
criterion since, as has been already mentioned, adultery, except in
the case of rape or a spouse’s unfaithfulness has become accepted
as a norm.
Not
only have the majority of Christians
today acquiesced to the legality of zina,
sodomy, and the consumption of wine, they even regard such
condonement as allowing to the individual his right to the
“freedom of choice”, and to make matters worse, many are even
proud to do so. Now, let us think that if they fail to even regard zina
anymore as a sin, could the condition of chastity ever be found in
such people?
Today,
it is not uncommon to find unmarried Christian men and women
experiment with “marriage” before marriage for lengthy periods
of time, and experience has shown that in most cases, they separate
after short “experiments”. They show a preference to
live-in-partners over spouses and prefer this kind of haraam situation over marriage and regard this sacred contract as a
burden. We have seen that Christian women of the past would maintain
good morals and guard their chastity, whereas the western woman of
today views zina as a
permissible jaunt if committed by mutual consent, just as she has
“accepted” sodomy and homosexuality as normal behaviour.
Furthermore, not only are these sins viewed merely as sexual
preferences but they are actually “protected” by laws legislated
in parliament.
CONSEQUENCE
As a result of
this fitna (i.e. Muslim boys marrying Nasaarah
women), many of our Muslim girls today remain unmarried in the homes
of their fathers, their youth completely wasted away and their years
swiftly passing by, while Muslim boys are covetously chasing after
other women. When Hadhrat Huzaifa bin Yaaman (RA) married a Jewish
woman in Madaain, Ameerul Mu’umineen Hadhrat Umar (RA) wrote to
him ordering him to leave her. “Is it haraam?,” asked Hadhrat
Huzaifa (RA) in his reply. “Before putting down my letter,”
wrote Hadhrat Umar (RA) “determine that you will separate from
her, for I fear that other Muslim men will follow your example in
choosing non-Muslim women because of their beauty. And this will be
a great fitna for our Muslim women”.
Now,
more than ever before, it is the duty of every responsible Muslim,
especially the heads of states to purge their societies of kufr
and ilhaad (apostasy) and
particularly those elements which generate them. They are dutibound
to keep away the sick and contagion-infected camels from the healthy
ones and make every effort to prevent this evil from spreading. It
is an accepted fact that contagion of character is far worse than a
contagion of bodies and that prevention is better than cure..
Our
Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said “Do not choose as a companion anyone but a
Mu’min and none should eat your food save a pious person”. The
indecency and immorality that have crept into Muslim-Arab societies
of today are as a result of inter-mingling with western and
Christian Arab women, bereft of Deen and acceptable character. The
rot set in slowly when the Muslims began to learn their ways and ape
their dressing. First, they began to reveal their hands up to the
elbow. Then, the shoulders became uncovered until finally the legs
up to the thighs became exposed. No longer was it unacceptable for
men to walk about bareheaded and for women to brazenly reveal the
hair of the head, face and neck. This was a reversion to the days of
the period of the First Ignorance. As a result of blind Taqleed
(emulation), first the younger women and then the older ones became
enmeshed in this fitna.
The
most sacred and prized possessions of a Muslim woman are her Deen,
honour, and modesty which is safeguarded by her concealing of
herself from strangers.
MESSAGE
Therefore,
our message to our dear Muslim Youth is this: Allah Ta’ala has
honoured you with Islam and granted you superiority over others in
the event of you fully adopting the Islamic way of life. Remember!
It is to your responsibility to withhold yourselves from the evil of
following your base desires, to adorn yourself with nobler
qualities, and to safeguard yourselves from all evil. And for the
sake of your children and your home, select a Muslim woman only, who
will protect you regarding her chastity, your possessions and your
family, and who will be a true friend and advisor in all your
affairs. Our Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said, “The world is an object of
benefit and the best of it is a pious woman. (Mishkăt).
Highlighting her role, Allah Ta’ala has referred to the wife as
“the companion at one’s side”(36 : 4). Therefore, in view of
the above, a true indication of the foolishness of a man is his
choice of a woman who does not have IMAAN. The disastrous
consequences of such foolishness on himself, his wealth and his
family cannot be over-emphasized. History bears witness to this.
These
words of caution apply equally with regard to all non-Muslim women,
whether Arab or Non-Arab, since such women can never be expected to
fulfill their responsibility with regard to the Islamic essentials
like Tahaarah (physical cleanliness) Salăh, fasting, etc. and
cannot be supportive of their husbands in their religious
observances. When today’s’ westernized Christian woman frowns
upon the idea of obedience to a husband, how could it be correct, or
even thinkable, for a Muslim man to choose such a woman as his wife?
Sadly,
many of our youth seem to be inclined towards a life of
permissiveness and freedom from all Deeni and rational restrictions
and are over-awed by the merely superficial things in life. They
view everything with the eye of their emotions and not the eye of
their mind and reason. As a result, they end up choosing the
inferior over that which is superior. They feel, and this is indeed
the height of ignorance, that progress and cultural refinement is to
be found in people who are the products of an alcoholic, shamelessly
naked and morally bankrupt Christian society. They should bear in
mind that should they persist on this course of deviation and
destruction, and fail to return to the path of obedience to Allah
Ta’ala, then they too shall go down in history as losers in this
world and the Aakhirah. This is certainly a great and costly price
to pay for treading the path of evil and obeying their desires in
this short life, and a far cry indeed from the way of our pious
predecessors who had, under all conditions, held fast to the Deen of
Allah Ta’ala, the Lord of the worlds.
22 Muharram
1390
Shaykh Abdullah bin Zaid Aal Mahmood
Chief Justice of Shariah Court; Head of Islamic affairs; Qatar
A Christian or Jewish woman who in this context maintains her
religion without converting to Islam.
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