Marriage with People of the Book and non-Muslim women

Woman of the Book or polytheist

The scholars' rule is clear: a Muslim may marry a free, chaste woman who believes in a revealed Book (Jewish or Christian), by the general agreement of the jurists, based on the verse: "Lawful to you are the chaste women of the believers, and the chaste women among those given the Book before you" (al-Ma'ida 5). The polytheist remains forbidden: "Do not marry polytheists until they believe" (al-Baqara 221), and the same applies to the Magian woman: Ahmad was asked about a claimed Magian scripture and rejected the idea firmly, for the rule of the People of the Book does not extend beyond them.

A disliked marriage in a land of war

The four schools allow marriage with a woman of the Book even coming from the enemy camp: it is the Book that makes the woman lawful, not the territory. But the scholars agree to dislike it in that specific case, and the general permission remains tied to its historical setting: today, a mixed marriage is examined with a scholar, case by case.

Rules of the mixed household

• the guardian: a non-Muslim father may give his non-Muslim daughter in marriage, even to a Muslim, according to the majority (Hanafis, Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis); if the non-Muslim guardians refuse, the Muslim authority compels or replaces them;
• rotation between wives: the Muslim wife's night and the woman of the Book's night count equally, by a reported consensus from Ibn al-Mundhir;
• places of worship: the majority of jurists allow the husband to prevent his wife from going to the church or temples, since it brings neither obedience nor good;
• wine and pork: Shafi'is and a Hanbali narration allow the husband to stop her from them, fearing intoxication and its consequences;
• the husband remains bound to her by the contract's rights: mahr, maintenance, fairness.

These rights are exercised within the Law's limits: the Prophet said, "Do not prevent the maidservants of Allah from the mosques of Allah" (al-Bukhari ; Muslim), a rule worded for the Muslim wife.

Practical note

This marriage is a permission, not a general recommendation: the faith of the home, the children's upbringing and the household's peace weigh in the decision. Consult a scholar before committing, and afterwards honor the wife's rights fully.