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Inter-religious Marriage

A Muslim man may marry a woman from "The people of the Book" (Jews and Christians) for a wife. Inspite of differences in doctrine between Islam and the people of the Book (Torah and Bible), Islam recognizes that in principle they are believers in a God sent religion and followers of God sent Moses and Jesus (concerning Christians). Both relate to the religion of Abraham, the common grandfather of Mohammad and the Israelites.

The Israelites are mentioned on a large number of occasions in the Quran in praise for as long as they maintained monotheism and worshipped God. But also in rebuke for disobeying Moses even during his life, for attempting to worship the golden calf, for killing a number of their own prophets, for tampering with the Torah and ascribing inappropriate features to God such as His fight with Israel in which Israel defeated God (!!), for believing they are a super race and the chosen people of God, for under ranking the non-Jewish people and believing that the goyeem (non-Jews) should be servants to them, for rejecting Jesus Son of Mary and branding him as liar and imposter and choosing the life of Barabas over his life after asking for his death, and finally for rejecting Islam, betraying their covenants with Mohammad and plotting against Islam.

With Christians Islam shares the reverence of Jesus Son of Mary, the belief in the chastity of his mother who gave birth to him through the immaculate conception, and that his teachings were God's teachings. However, Islam emphasises the human nature of Jesus, that he was created by God's will without a father (like Adam who was created with neither father or mother) and that he performed his miracles by God's leave and not his own.

Islam also teaches that the jews (through the Romans) did not crucify Jesus or kill him although they thought they did, for God raised Jesus up unto Him. Vicarious sacrifice is not acknowledged by Islam, so God's forgiveness and mercy can be sought by direct apology and repentance to Him, without the need of a human sacrifice ( let alone His own son as believed by christians}. and without the intercession of any mortal between man and his Creator, hence there is no clergy and no church in Islam.

But what is the practical outcome of these differences?   Islam's prescription is tolerance, friendliness and justice, in acknowledgement of the common basic belief:

"Say (O believers):  We believe in Go, and in the revelation transmitted upon us, and upon Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given (all) the prophets from their Lord, we make no discrimination between one and another of them, and to Him we are submitters (Muslims)."  (2:136).

Unless they are actively fighting against Islam, the relation between muslims and the People of the Book is one of compassion and cooperation. They eat each other's food (unless specifically prohibited like pig meat which is forbidden in Judaism and Islam and was permitted in Christianity by Paul and not by Jesus) and enter each other's houses as friendly guests. The legal dictum covering their status within a Muslim state is, 'They have our rights and owe our duties', Never should they be forced or pressured to convert to Islam against their conviction, for the Quran says:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion." (2:256)

But perhaps the most convincing example of the tolerant and friendly attitude of Islam towards the People of the Book, is that it makes it permissible for a Muslim man to build that sacred unit of humanity, the family, by marrying a Christian or a Jewish woman. It gives her the right to keep to her faith, and makes it a religious duty on the husband to enable her to observe her rites and worship according to her religion. Obviously Islam adopts the bridges rather than the rifts:

"This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you, The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who a.re believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book revealed before your time, when you give them their dowers and desire chastity not lewdness nor secret intrigues." (5:5)

The converse relation, however, does not hold, and a Muslim girl cannot marry a non-Muslim. The reason is obvious, for as we stated before, the leader of the family is the husband, and in Islam as it is in the other religions the woman is enjoined to be obedient to her husband. When the leader is the one who recognizes the religion of the other party and is responsible by the authority of his own religion to protect the freedom of religion of his consort, then justice is indeed ensured, and when a Muslim man marries a Christian or Jewess she is in no fear for her religious rights. If the husband of a Muslim woman were non-Muslim, who does not recognize Islam altogether, then divergence of loyalty might arise say if the husband wishes to entertain sexual relations during the fast in Ramadan for example, or if he expresses views showing disrespect of Islam or its prophet since he believes in neither.