Muslim Women Marrying Non-Muslim Men and Who is a Believer

Prophet Muhammad (saaws) has stated that "marriage is half of your deen (religion). The importance of marriage is Islam cannot be underestimated since it is more than just a union of two people who love each other but it is also a religious duty. That is why it is important to know as Muslims if our marriage is valid or not and if it will help us closer to our Creator in obedience and faith. -- marriage is about getting closer to Allah and not just getting closer to the person whom we are married to.

Islam has rules defining marriage and who can be married to whom. One of the rules of marriage is the prohibition of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men.

Allah states in 2:221 in the Quran that it is forbidden for Muslim women to marry idolaters (mushrikuun) while in 60:10 it further elaborates Muslim women not being allowed to marry any disbeliever. The wording in both verses do not indicate exclusivity based on a particular event; the meaning and ruling are generally applied to any similar situation.

That is one of the reasons why there is no disagreement or differences of opinion (ikhtilaaf) from among the scholars of Islam or schools of thought regarding the prohibition of Muslim women marrying non Muslim men. Having said that, there has been attempts by some to redefine the very meaning of Muslim to include the People of the Book as "those who submitted to the will of God" (Islam) so that it would be permissible for Muslim women to marry Jewish and Christian men.

First, are Jews and Christians Muslims or Mu'mins (those who have complete faith)? The Quran makes it clear that they are from among the disbelievers. For example, in 5:72-73, Allah says that those who believe that Jesus is God or that God is three in one are disbelievers. In 3:98-99, Allah mentions how Jews and Christians disbelieve in His signs and have tried to hinder believers from path of God and make this path crooked.

Some might contend that there are verses that mention Jews and Christians as believers. In 2:62 and 5:69, the verses mention those who believed from amongst the Jews, Christians, and Sabians.

What we must understand that we cannot take one part of the Quran while ignoring the rest; the Quranic exegesis principle of "parts of the Quran explains other parts of the Quran" and abrogation (naskh) must be taken into account when understanding and interpreting the Quran. The verses that mention People of the Book being believers are in regards to those BEFORE Islam, not during or after Islam. This is because if a person rejects a messenger or prophet of God, then that person has not submitted to God nor has he have faith in Him. Indeed the Prophet Muhammad (saaws) was sent by Allah to all of mankind for all times and rejecting him and Islam is disbelief (kufr).

Allah made it clear that the only way of life He accepts is Islam:

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers". (3:85)

If indeed Jews and Christians can be seen as "Muslims", why would Allah state that Abraham was neither Jew or Christian but Muslim/believer:

"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian but a true Muslim/believer". (3:67)

While Jews and Christians have been labeled as disbelievers in the Quran, no ayah ever mentions Muslims and being from among the disbelievers because one cannot be a disbeliever and Muslim at the same time.

Prophet Muhammad stated in a famous Hadith that if Moses (as) were alive today, he would have no choice but to follow Muhammad (saaws)

Some cite the verse regarding the Arabs being "Muslims" but not "Mu'mins" (those who have complete faith):

Even though these particular Arabs in the verse did not have complete faith, they still made their shahaadah (declaration of faith) and are not disbelievers.

We live in a time where many people are forgetting that Islam is based on revelation and not on scholars, scholarship, etc. We cannot interpret Islam the way we want for whatever reason when there is clear evidence from Islam on a particular issue. It is clear that Islam prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men and that Jews and Christians are not Muslims or believers if they reject the Prophet Muhammad (saaws) and Islam.

"But no, by your Lord, they cannot have faith until they make you (Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them and find in yourselves no resistance against your decisions and accept them with full submission" (4:65)