Praise be to
Allaah.
The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry Maariyah
al-Qibtiyyah, rather she was his concubine. The Muqawqis, the
ruler of Egypt, gave her as gift to him after the Treaty of
al-Hudaybiyah.
It is permissible
to have intercourse with a slave woman, even if she is not
Muslim, because she is part of what one's right hand
possesses, and Allaah has permitted what one's right hand
possesses without stipulating that the slave woman be a
Muslim. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
And those who
guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual
acts)
6. Except from
their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess,~
for then, they are free from blame
[al-Muminoon
23:5-6]
With regard to
marrying a Christian or Jewish woman, this is permissible
according to the text of the Quraan. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
Made lawful to
you this day are At‑Tayyibaat [all kinds of Halaal (lawful)
foods, which Allaah has made lawful (meat of slaughtered
eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables and fruits)].
The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the people
of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you and
yours is lawful to them. (Lawful to you in marriage) are
chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those
who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before your
time when you have given their due Mahr (bridal-money given by
the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), desiring
chastity (i.e. taking them in legal wedlock) not committing
illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girlfriends
[al-Maaidah
5:5]
Ibn al-Qayyim
said:
It is permissible
to marry a woman from the People of the Book. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
(Lawful to you
in marriage) are chaste [muhsan] women from the believers and
chaste women from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and
Christians) before your time
[al-Maaidah
5:5]
Muhsan here means
chaste; the same word is also used in Soorat al-Nisa to
describe married women, who are forbidden in marriage to
anyone else. And it was said that the chaste women to whom
marriage is permitted is free women, so slave women from the
People of the Book are not permissible. However, the first
view is the one which is correct, for several reasons
The point is that
Allaah has permitted us to marry chaste women from among the
People of the Book, and the companions of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that. Uthmaan married
a Christian woman, as did Talhah ibn Ubayd-Allaah; and
Hudhayfah married a Jewish woman.
Abd-Allaah ibn
Ahmad said: I asked my father about a Muslim man who married a
Christian or Jewish woman. He said: I do not like for him to
do it, but if he does, then some of the companions of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that
too.
Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah,
2/794, 795.
Although we say
that it is permissible, and we do not doubt that there is a
clear text concerning that, nevertheless we do not think that
a Muslim should marry a kitaabi woman (a woman of the people
of the Book), for several reasons:
1 One of the
conditions of marriage to a kitaabi woman is that she should
be chaste, but there are very few chaste women to be found in
those environments.
2 One of the
conditions of marriage to a kitaabi woman is that the Muslim
man should be in charge of the family. But what happens
nowadays in that those who marry women from kaafir countries
marry them under their laws, and there is a great deal of
injustice in their systems. They do not recognize a Muslims
authority over his wife and children, and if the wife gets
angry with her husband she will destroy his household and take
the children away, with the support of the laws of her land
and with the help of their embassies in most countries. It is
no secret that the Muslim countries have no power to resist
the pressure of those countries and their embassies.
3 The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged us to
look for Muslim wives who are religiously committed. If a
woman is Muslim but is not religiously committed and of good
character, then the Muslim is not encouraged to marry her,
because marriage is not simply the matter of physical
enjoyment only, rather it is the matter of Allaahs rights and
the spouses rights, and preserving his household, his honour
and his wealth, and bringing up his children. How can a man
who marries a kitaabi woman be certain that his sons and
daughters will be raised according to Islam when he is leaving
them in the hands of this mother who does not believe in
Allaah and associates others with Him?
Hence even though
we say that it is permissible to marry a kitaabi woman, it is
not encouraged and we do not advise it, because of the
negative consequences that result from that. The wise Muslim
should choose the best woman to bear his children and think in
the long term about his children and their religious
upbringing. He should not let his desire or worldly interests
or transient outward beauty blind him to reality; true beauty
is the beauty of religious commitment and good morals.
He should realize
that if he forsakes these type of women for the sake of that
which is better for his religious commitment and that of his
children, Allaah will compensate him with something better,
because Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allaah,
Allaah will compensate him with something better than that, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told
us, the one who speaks the truth and does not speak of his own
whims and desires. Allaah is the source of strength and the
One Who guides to the Straight Path.