I am a Mauritanian studying in Germany. I have the honor to ask you about the permissibility of marrying a Western Kitabi woman who claims to be Christian but does not abide by the teachings of her religion.
And what is the ruling on marriage with the intention of divorce for the purpose of obtaining residency? Is this intention permissible?
First, it is permissible to marry that German, who is considered Christian even if she believes that Jesus is a god. Allah, Exalted be He, calls them People of the Scripture, though He says,{Verily, they have disbelieved who say, “Indeed, Allah is the third of three”}. He also says,{Verily, they have disbelieved who say, “Indeed, Allah Himself is the Messiah, Son of Mary”}. Nevertheless, they were left to their beliefs and remained People of the Scripture. Accordingly, it is permissible to marry her. This is not a problem.
Second, marriage with the intention of divorce is valid, according to majority of Muslim scholars, such as Ash-Shatibi and Ibn Al-`Arabi, and this is the correct opinion in the Maliki school of jurisprudence. It is permissible to get married while intending to divorce. There is no problem with this, provided that this is not stated expressly in the marriage document.
Third, there is no impediment to get married for the purpose of obtaining residency in Germany. A Prophetic hadith tells us that a woman is married for her wealth, her beauty, and her lineage. Here, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned other reasons than the basic reason for marriage, namely, to live together and have children. This is the concept of subsequent reasons or objectives, as Ash-Shatibi called them. In his Al-Muwafaqat,he said, “There is no impediment to get married for any of such subsequent reasons”. Obtaining residency is a subsequent reason, and although this subsequent reason has now become primary in importance, it remains permissible. Of course, there are resolutions by the European Council for Fatwa and Research disapproving this on the basis of weighing up the benefits and harms that may ensue. However, we say that the Shar`i ruling is that it is permissible to get married for the purpose of obtaining residency.
A final point to note: The only problem with this is that it may give a bad impression of Muslims among Westerners. The woman thinks that she will live permanently with her husband, while the latter does not actually have this intention. So, we recommend that, if there is no necessity requiring otherwise, the marriage should be with the intention of continuity — but not perpetuity, as marriage in Islam is not perpetual like Christian marriage, as Ibn Al-`Arabi said — especially if the wife wishes to stay with him. This practice would distort the image of Islam and Muslims in the eyes of others, which is impermissible.
To conclude, there is no Shar`i impediment to marriage with the intention of divorce or for the purpose of obtaining residency. Only the last negative consequence highlighted above must be avoided.
May Allah grant us all success.