Shazia Wadood asked 1 month ago
Assalam O Alaikum,
My son wants to marry a girl of christian faith. I wanted to know if you or any of the other Imams will perform an interfaith Nikah?
Kindly advise.
JazakAllah Khair,
Shazia Wadood
Mufti Wahaaj Staff answered 1 month ago
بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم
الجواب حامداً ومصلياً
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
As a matter of principle, I do not perform interfaith nikāḥs.[1] This is also the position of Tawheed Center. I cannot speak on behalf of other imams or institutions regarding their policies.
As a final piece of advice, I have appended a portion of a fatwā written by one of my colleagues:[2]
“Marriage is a major step in one’s life. One must consider many things in a spouse before committing to marriage. As Muslims, we are proud of our Islam and we jealously guard our Islam. We differentiate ourselves from anything that poses as a threat to Islam, Islamic ideologies or Islamic practices.
Marrying a Christian or Jewish woman, particularly in this era can be very challenging to one’s beliefs, especially if one is not a strong Muslim in his own faith and practices. Love has the potential to influence the beloved, and as such a Muslim husband could be influenced towards Christianity or Judaism by his beloved wife.
Furthermore, such a woman is a potential mother for one’s child. It is obvious that a child is deeply affected by the attributes of his mother. A Christian or Jewish mother’s beliefs and conduct will pass on to the child with long lasting effects.
It is for this reason a vast majority of the Sahaaba and Taabi’een disliked the idea of marrying a Christian or Jew because of the destructive implications which would arise therefrom. During the caliphate of Umar (Radhiyallhu anhu), when a few Sahaabah married women of the book and the news reached Umar (Radhiyallhu anhu), he issued an order for those sahaabah to divorce their wives[1]. For example, when Hudhaifa ibn Yaman (Radhiyallhu anhu) married a Jewish woman and the news reached Umar (Radhiyallhu anhu) he became very angry and ordered Hudhaifa (Radhiyallhu Anhu) to divorce her. The order to divorce was to create an example for the coming ummah to exercise extreme precaution in marrying a Christian or Jewish woman.”
والله تعالى أعلم وعلمه أتم وبه التوفيق
And Allāh Taʿālā Knows Best
Muftī Mohammed Wahaajuddin bin Salauddin
(May Allāh forgive him and his parents)
—
فتح القدير، كتاب النكاح، ج٣ ص٢٣٠، دار الفكر
ويدل على الحل تزوج بعض الصحابة منهم وخطبة بعضهم، فمن المتزوجين حذيفة وطلحة وكعب بن مالك وغضب عمر فقالوا نطلق يا أمير المؤمنين، وإنما كان غضبه لخلطة الكافرة بالمؤمن وخوف الفتنة على الولد لأنه في صغره ألزم لأمه، ومثله قول مالك تصير تشرب الخمر وهو يقبل ويضاجع لا لعدم الحل؛ ألا ترى إلى قولهم نطلق يا أمير المؤمنين ولم ينكر عليهم ذلك هو ولا غيره، ولو لم يصح لم يتصور طلاق حقيقة ولا وقف إلى زمنه.