Is it permissible for a Muslim to marry a Jewish or Christian woman?

The Shaykh : Recently, I had visitors who stayed up with us, and the following question was raised: Is it permissible for a Muslim to marry a Christian or Jewish woman? The original ruling is that it is permissible, but in this time, I say: I do not see that. Because this marriage will lead to harms, due to the difference between the current Islamic atmosphere and the atmosphere of early Islam, and due to the difference in the upbringing of the People of the Book now compared to their state in that time. In that time, although they were disbelievers and those who associate partners with Allah, they had something called jealousy, something called honor; they cared about protecting their chastity. But today, as you see, the situation is that in Europe and America, it is very, very rare today to hear of a Muslim marrying a female from the People of the Book from among the citizens, as they say in the modern era. I mean: from his own country, and she is a Christian or Jewish woman. Rather, what happens is that a young man travels to Europe and America, and there he perhaps serves one of these disbelieving women, and he likes her and she likes him, so he brings her as his wife and companion.

The questioner : For the green card.

The Shaykh : This is what I say: it is not permissible. Why? For the two reasons mentioned earlier. Our Islamic society today is not that society, and their disbelieving society is not that society in terms of what? Moral character. And you know, some of you have seen and witnessed, and some of you have heard, that the Jewish and Christian women who lived in Islamic lands were covered, and you would see them and there was no difference between them and a Muslim woman. Why? Because they were influenced by the Islamic atmosphere in which they lived. But this is now completely absent. In Europe, it is absent, so he brings her in her attire, in her display of adornment, and in her full beauty, and so on. This is my wife, so what will be the fate of the children who are born to these two spouses? There is no doubt that, for the most part, their upbringing will not be an Islamic upbringing. For this reason, we say: although the original ruling in that is permissibility, but something may occur regarding a permissible matter that makes it prohibited and not permissible. This is exactly like the issue of plural marriage. So I hope the issue is understood well, so that Muslims today do not expand on marrying a second wife due to the problems that may result from it: First: regarding the general society. Second: regarding the specific society in which this second woman will reside. And we do not also blame a person who married another for one reason or another and we raise a commotion over him, as if he did something wrong. Neither this nor that, but rather the best is "the best of matters are their middles."

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding your statement "I do not see it" regarding marriage to a Christian or Jewish woman, is it prohibition or dislike?

The Shaykh : It is not prohibition, and it is known that this is regarding the consequences.