I?m a Shafee Muslim girl. Recently I met a Roman Catholic American divorcee with 3 kids (he & his ex-wife have joint custody). During this previous marriage he has undergone a vasectomy; Alhamdullilah this now doesn’t impact on ?our children following his faith?. Being in love, we would like to marry. I?m an independent educated woman, having received my tertiary education in the U.S. now working in the U.K. I?m 34; he’s 42. I?ve always & still believed that Islam is a tolerant & understanding religion. It teaches that all faiths have, in essence, one common message of the existence of a Supreme Being. Islam doesn’t regard itself to be a new teaching, separate from the other world religions. It’s a REAFFIRMATION of the ancient yet living truth of all religions. That’s the greatness of Islam. On my circumstances, I?ll remain a Muslim practicing my faith; he remains a Christian; we?re ok with this. We respect each other & I?ve no intention to convert out of Islam. We?re both very grounded. I recognised that I?m pushing the envelope here, but I believe Islam is a timeless religion & should also be read from today’s perspective. I want to marry this man & have my marriage be valid in the eyes of Allah. I seek Allah’s understanding on the love I found in this man of my choice. Please can you review and research this for me instead of giving me the standard answer. I want to be with this man & also want to adhere to my faith. Wassalam, Mariam
Allah has prohibited the disbelieving man from marrying a believing woman and a believing woman from marrying a disbeliever. Under the commentary of Ayah 221 of Surah Baqarah: ?And do not marry idolatrous women unless they bring faith. And indeed a believing slave-girl is better than an idolatress even though she may appeal to you. And wed not (your women) to the idolatrous men, unless they bring faith. And indeed a believing slave-boy is better than an idolater, even though he may appeal to you. They are the ones who call towards the fire; and Allah calls towards paradise and (towards) forgiveness by His command. And Allah makes plain His verses for mankind; perchance they heed the advice.?
The commentators are unanimous that it is not lawful for a believing woman to marry a disbeliever or for a disbeliever to marry a believing woman under any circumstance. (Tafseer ul Qur?an il Azeem, Vol. 1, Page 336).
In Ayah 10 of Surah Mumtahinah, Allah says: ?Neither are these (believing) women lawful for those (disbelieving) men, nor are those (disbelieving) men lawful for these (believing) women.? Mufti Muhammad Shafi? writes in the commentary of this verse that it is not lawful for a disbeliever to marry a believing woman or for a believing woman to marry a disbeliever. (Ma?aariful Qur?an, Vol. 8, Page 406, 407). When the Holy Qur?an was revealed, the level of understanding religion was at its highest point, yet still there was a fear that if a Muslim woman gets married to a disbeliever, then her Imaan would diminish slowly. Although they were living in the time of Nabi (S.A.S), they were scared of the outcome of such a marriage. Today, the level of corruption is at its climax. We should not only be scared, but terrified of the outcome of such a marriage. The Qur?an is the final revelation. Therefore the commands that it contain have to be enforced until the day of Resurrection. The intelligence of mankind holds no status in front of the commands of Allah.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Muhammad Ashraf
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