A man who is not upright proposed to an upright woman; is it permissible for her guardian to marry her to him?

The questioner : There is also a question about a Muslim man who is not committed to the teachings of Islam marrying a committed girl or woman. For example, he asks her family to look for a girl for him, and he is keen for her to be committed, even though he himself is not committed, hoping that Allah will guide his heart. Is this permissible?

The Shaykh : No, this is not permissible, because he is not a suitable match for her. Just as the guardians are commanded to marry their daughters to a suitable match, the opposite is also obligatory. That is, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the opposite: if someone comes to you whose religion and character you do not approve of, do not marry them to you. Suitability is of two types: one on which there is consensus, and one on which there is disagreement. The type on which there is consensus is suitability in religion and character. The other type is suitability in lineage. This second type is disputed. In truth, suitability in lineage has no value in Islam. However, some people have said, for example, that it is not permissible for a Qurayshi woman to marry a non-Qurayshi Arab, let alone a non-Arab, even though Islam united them. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) invalidated this lineage-based suitability by saying, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, in the authentic hadith: And our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says regarding the Day of Resurrection: So, religious and character suitability is the condition. If a man who is not committed, as I said, proposes to a committed girl, it is not permissible for her guardian to agree to marry her to that non-committed Muslim. The term "not committed" is a modern expression, a way of softening the wording, which they consider a legal strategy, but I consider it a non-Shari'ah compromise. There are many, many examples of this. Today, for instance, they call riba (usury or interest) "interest" to soften the reality of this Shari'ah term. Riba is forbidden, so they call the forbidden thing "interest," diluting this ruling and losing it. Likewise, what does "not committed" mean? It means he does not pray. This should be called an open sinner, but they do not say he is an open sinner; they say "not committed," a stretchable term. It could mean he does not do the secondary matters in Islam, as they say, meaning the sunnah (recommended practice) and mustahabb (recommended) acts, for example, he does not stand in night prayer while people are sleeping, and so on. But he may be careful with the obligatory acts. This would be disbelief. Therefore, the true Muslim today must be a practitioner of Islam, outwardly and inwardly. In summary, the open sinner is not a suitable match for the righteous woman. And as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in another hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim: Likewise, we say: "So, you should take the one with religion; may your hands be rubbed in the dust if you do not." And it is also said to her guardian: Just as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commands the suitor to look for the righteous woman, and not to look for her beauty, wealth, lineage, or status, but for her religion, so she must look for this religion and this character. Anything else?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Okay, bring the first question.

The questioner : The first question is on the topic of the creed of loyalty and disavowal. Is it permissible for a Muslim to have the creed of loyalty and disavowal manifest before establishing the argument on the other person, whether he is a non-Muslim, or from other than the people of the Sunnah, or from those who differ on some matters from the people of the Sunnah...

The Shaykh : If you remove "loyalty and disavowal" from your speech, does the question make sense? Because I see no connection. Does the question make sense if we remove the words "loyalty and disavowal"?

The questioner : ... No, it does not make sense.

The Shaykh : Why? Because I do not understand the question, because your question is complete.

The questioner : Disavowal. If the question was in the wrong form, there is no loyalty at all. I mean disavowal.

The Shaykh : Okay, let us rephrase the question.