Title

Unchaste Christian wife

Question

As salamu alaikum,

I have read your response to the question about the christian wife and feel worried. I think you may have missed something out.

A muslim man can marry a christian or jewish women yes Islam allows this but she has to be a chaste woman as well as a practising woman. Now the woman in the question cannot be chaste if she has a boyfriend and men and women who have boyfriends and girl friends tend to have a series of boyfriends and girldfriends through out their lives so they are not chaste at all. Please make the response more clearer because my non muslim friend showed me that response and said look the scholar didn't say that the boyfriend and gril friend thing is wrong.

Please make the answer more clear and detailed.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِي أَخْدَانٍ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ  (القرآن 5:5)

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 are believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book, revealed before you, when you give them their due dowry, and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor secret intrigues. If anyone rejects faith, his work has gone in vain, and in the Hereafter he shall be amongst the losers. (Al-Quran 5:5)

In this verse, the word Muhsanaat refers to free woman who are not slaves. It does not refer to chastity. [1]

The scholars have mentioned that a Muslim man may marry a non-muslim woman who is a Christian or a Jew. It is not a condition for the validity of marriage that the woman be chaste in order to marry a Muslim man. However, it is preferable a Muslim man marries a non-muslim woman who is chaste.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Abdul Hannan Nizami,
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.