Is the marriage of a Muslim to a Christian woman in a church valid?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is the marriage of a Muslim to a Christian woman in a church valid?
The Shaykh : The marriage is valid, but I do not think you mean the church specifically as a place of separation.
The questioner : There is a young man, a neighbor of ours, who went abroad to study. He married a foreign girl and returned here to register the boy after he was five years old. They registered him in kindergarten, so they asked for a birth certificate. He did not have one, and there was no birth certificate with the father because the boy was not registered under his father's name. When asked, he said that he married this woman in a church according to the Christian way, and she is now pregnant. He is trying to find a way to register his children and asks, first, whether he is required to announce the marriage again, or what he should do.
The Shaykh : In fact, this is what I was aiming at. I do not think the intended question is about the church; do you mean that the question took place in a church as a place where partners are associated with Allah the Exalted? I do not think that is what you mean. Or do you mean that this contract is not Sharia-compliant because, for example, he married her despite her father, or he married her without Muslim witnesses? Do you mean that it took place in a church, a place where partners are associated with Allah the Exalted, or do you mean the second aspect you mentioned?
The questioner : I mean both aspects; by his own admission, he was married in the church, inside the church.
The Shaykh : This is not a Sharia-compliant contract, not because it took place in a church, but because the conditions established by the Lawgiver were not present.
The questioner : There was not a single Muslim witness with him.
The Shaykh : This is not an Islamic marriage, whether it took place inside the church or outside the church.
The questioner : Does the boy inherit from him?
The Shaykh : No, he is not his son.
The questioner : What is required of him now, a new marriage?
The Shaykh : Of course, if he intends to marry her, he must repent for what he did, and she must also repent for what she did. He should marry her before the Sharia judge and register the marriage.
The questioner : And the children and the boys.
The Shaykh : Like the children of unlawful sexual intercourse.
The questioner : Does ignorance excuse one in such matters?
The Shaykh: No.
The questioner : Is the hadithMishkat al-Masabih 167Isnād Da'īf (Zubair `Aliza'i) weak?
The Shaykh : Weak.
The questioner : The Islamic Bank. The general public has the idea that it is truly an Islamic bank and that dealing with it in all forms is permissible. We ask you to kindly clarify the status of the Islamic Bank.
The Shaykh : ... in research?
The Shaykh : The marriage is valid, but I do not think you mean the church specifically as a place of separation.
The questioner : There is a young man, a neighbor of ours, who went abroad to study. He married a foreign girl and returned here to register the boy after he was five years old. They registered him in kindergarten, so they asked for a birth certificate. He did not have one, and there was no birth certificate with the father because the boy was not registered under his father's name. When asked, he said that he married this woman in a church according to the Christian way, and she is now pregnant. He is trying to find a way to register his children and asks, first, whether he is required to announce the marriage again, or what he should do.
The Shaykh : In fact, this is what I was aiming at. I do not think the intended question is about the church; do you mean that the question took place in a church as a place where partners are associated with Allah the Exalted? I do not think that is what you mean. Or do you mean that this contract is not Sharia-compliant because, for example, he married her despite her father, or he married her without Muslim witnesses? Do you mean that it took place in a church, a place where partners are associated with Allah the Exalted, or do you mean the second aspect you mentioned?
The questioner : I mean both aspects; by his own admission, he was married in the church, inside the church.
The Shaykh : This is not a Sharia-compliant contract, not because it took place in a church, but because the conditions established by the Lawgiver were not present.
The questioner : There was not a single Muslim witness with him.
The Shaykh : This is not an Islamic marriage, whether it took place inside the church or outside the church.
The questioner : Does the boy inherit from him?
The Shaykh : No, he is not his son.
The questioner : What is required of him now, a new marriage?
The Shaykh : Of course, if he intends to marry her, he must repent for what he did, and she must also repent for what she did. He should marry her before the Sharia judge and register the marriage.
The questioner : And the children and the boys.
The Shaykh : Like the children of unlawful sexual intercourse.
The questioner : Does ignorance excuse one in such matters?
The Shaykh: No.
The questioner : Is the hadith
None of you is a believer till his desire follows what I have brought
لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يكون هواه تبعا لما جئت بهThe Shaykh : Weak.
The questioner : The Islamic Bank. The general public has the idea that it is truly an Islamic bank and that dealing with it in all forms is permissible. We ask you to kindly clarify the status of the Islamic Bank.
The Shaykh : ... in research?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.