I know the Holy Qu`ran allows for Muslim males to marry believing women of the book (be they Christians and/or Jews), but does this not specifically apply to a time when there were no other Muslim females available, as it was a time when most of the Muslim males were fighting for Islam abroad in non-Muslim lands, correct? So, if there are good, believing, pious and devout Muslimas out there, why are we still allowing our brothers to marry non-Muslims? Could you issue a fatwa about this please? I`m someone with limited knowledge and very glad to hear of your wonderful website! Jazakom Allah Khairan

All praise be to Allah, and may His peace and blessings be on the last messenger, Muhammad,

This answer will be for this question and questions about the reason men only were allowed to marry outside the faith.

Inter-religious marriages are all discouraged in Islam because people should look for commonalities when they seek a life partner. The journey of life is full of challenges, and the initial attraction may fade away with the test of time. Muslims, in particular, live their lives according to their religion, which guides their actions from the beginning of the day to the end and which makes up a very large component of their identity and lifestyle. In addition, in Islam, the spouses help one another to serve God by going to the mosque together, waking each other up for prayer, supporting one another during long days of fasting, etc. More importantly, they should raise their children jointly and harmoniously, without causing them confusion or distress.

Aside from the general prohibition of marrying non-Muslims, Allah specifically gives Muslim men permission to marry women from the People of the Book:

}وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ{

{…And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you…} (al-Mâ’idah 5: 5)

     Islam allows Muslim men to marry women from the People of the Book because their books have instructions about marriage, chastity and manners that are compatible with Islamic teachings.

Muslim women, however, were not allowed to marry non-Muslim men. Allah said,

“يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا جَاءَكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ ۖ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ ۖ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ”

“O you who have believed, when the believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them. Allah is most knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the unbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them.” [Al-Mumtaĥanah 60:10]

The distinction between the ruling concerning Muslim men and women regarding marriage to non-Muslims is because of the undeniable differences between the roles of husbands and wives within the household. It is easier for a Muslim man to practice his religion while being married to a non-Muslim woman than for a Muslim woman married to a non-Muslim man. For example, a Muslim woman is prohibited from having intercourse during her menstrual periods and on days on which she is fasting, and this restriction may not necessarily be honored by a non-Muslim husband. Muslim men must avoid all forms of injustice towards their wives, including any form of religious compulsion for non-Muslim wives; they are meant to allow them to worship God as instructed by their religion. In Ahkâm Ahl adh-Dhimmah, Ibn al-Qayyim explained that the Muslim man must avoid marital relations with his wife if she is required to refrain from that during her mandatory fasting. Muslims believe in the Divine origin of Judaism and Christianity and are required to revere Prophets Moses and Jesus, but the opposite is not true for the Jews and Christians, who may not recognize the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (SA). Finally, Islam ensures the commitment of its followers to its tenets by the necessary legislations, and while it permits Muslim men to marry Jewish and Christian women, it does not force the women to accept those marriages.

Despite the permissibility of Muslim men marrying Jewish and Christian women, it is still disliked. Moreover, this permissibility pertains to marrying them in the land of Islam; the ruling on marrying them in non-Muslim lands is different.

The non-Muslim lands were traditionally divided into lands of war or peace (‘ahd: a treaty of peace). Wherever Muslims have the right to practice their religion, the suggested term would be Dâr al-Amn (دارُ الأمْنِ‎‎ , or “abode of security”). In the land of war, all scholars agree that marriage to non-Muslim women is at best disliked, and some go as far as forbidding it, including the Hanbalis and Hanafis, as Ibn ‘Âbideen clarified that it is makrooh tahreeman, or prohibitively disliked, in their madh-hab.

In the classical sources of fiqh, there is no detailed discussion of the issue in the land of ‘ahd. However, one can extrapolate from the analysis of the causes of prohibition in the land of war that many scholars would have said the same about the land of ‘ahd. There, too, the Muslim will be putting at risk his children’s adherence to Islam, especially in case of disputes. Additionally, some of the Companions, including ‘Umar ibn al-Khattâb, prevented Muslims in the newly opened lands from marrying non-Muslim women because this might put Muslim women (who must marry Muslim men) at a disadvantage and cause them undue trials.

Allah knows best.