Ruling on Nikah with People of the Book
Christian and Jewish Women
A christian or jewish woman who believes in the existence of allah ta'ala and believes in any one of the heavenly books like torah, injeel, zaboor etc, and claims faith in any prophet, nikah with such a woman is in itself permissible.
Provided that the nikah is done in the shari manner in front of 2 witnesses and that woman is chaste.
وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِي أَخْدَانٍ
Meaning chaste muslim women are halal for you for nikah, and similarly chaste and pure women of the people of the book are also halal for you for nikah. Tarjuma ahkamul quran, Surah ma'eda, 5
Hazrat mufti shafi sahab rh. wrote, "According to the majority of sahaba ikraam raziyallahu anhum and taba'yn rh, although as per quran kareem nikah with women of the people of the book, meaning christians, jews etc, is in itself halal, but due to other evils and harms that would necessarily arise from marrying them for oneself, for one's children, rather for the entire ummat-e-muslima according to experience, they also considered nikah with women of the people of the book to be makruh." Maariful quran
*Letter of Hazrat Umar raziyallahu anhu to Hazrat Huzefa bin Yamaan*
When Hazrat Huzefa bin Yamaan raziyallahu anhu reached Mada'in, he married a jewish woman there. When Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam raziyallahu anhu received this information, he wrote a letter to him to divorce her.
Hazrat Huzefa raziyallahu anhu wrote back, "Is she haram for me?"
Then Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam raz. wrote, "I did not say haram, but generally there is no chastity and purity in the women of these people. Therefore I fear that indecency and immorality may enter your household through this path." Ahkamul quran
Hazrat Muhammad bin Hasan rh. narrated this incident through Imam-e-Azam Hazrat Abu Hanifa rh. as follows:
When Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam raz. wrote to Hazrat Huzefa raz. the second time, the words were:
"I swear to you that divorce and free her before you even hold my letter in your hand. Because I fear that other muslims will also follow you and prefer women of the people of the book over muslim women because of their beauty. Then what greater calamity could there be for muslim women than this?" Kitabul Asaar, 56
It is obvious that the women of these people, jews and christians, are not halal for muslims in any way, and even if they are hypothetically adherent to their religion, giving them a place in a muslim household is inviting religious and worldly ruin for one's entire family.
In summary, according to quran and sunnah and the practice of sahaba ikraam, it is binding on muslims to completely abstain from marrying women of the book in current times.
Finally, guidance is also given in the aayat that if you must keep women of the people of the book, then do so formally by nikah, bring them into islam, keep them as wives, fulfill their rights like mahr etc. Keeping them as mistresses and openly committing immorality, all these things are haram.
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