Does this verse ((Do not marry polytheist women until they believe)) imply the prohibition of marrying women from the People of the Book?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : How are you, our professor?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : And if Allah wills, you are well, my professor.
The Shaykh : Like al-Husayn, if Allah wills, I am well.
The questioner : May Allah honor you and bless you.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : My dear professor, in fact, there is a verse[Al-Baqarah 2:221] They say that it is not permissible based on this general text. How is it permissible to marry a woman from the People of the Book, a Christian or a Jew, while she is still on her religion?
The Shaykh : There is no problem, my brother, for one who knows this. Because among the scientific principles of jurisprudence is that the general is excepted by the specific, and the lesser is excepted from the greater. As you noticed in your question, "polytheists" is a general term that includes everyone who is not Muslim, including the Jews and the Christians. So when a text permits Muslims to marry a type of these polytheists, then this lesser type is excepted from the greater type. The greater type is polytheists, and the lesser type is the Jews and the Christians. So it is as if Allah (Mighty and Majestic), when He mentioned and prohibited marrying polytheist women, gave us in the other verse[Al-Ma'idah 5:5] At that time, we combine the general text that prohibits with the specific text that permits, and we say "except women from the People of the Book." And a close example of this is [Al-Ma'idah 5:3] This is a general text, but we except from it the carrion of fish and locusts. So when we read the verse [Al-Ma'idah 5:3] we associate with it in our mind the exception in the authentic hadith, and we say: Allah has forbidden us to eat carrion except the carrion of fish and locusts. Likewise, we say: Allah has forbidden us polytheist women except women from the People of the Book.
The questioner : Of course, this applies to Christian and Jewish women in this era with certainty, even if they do not adhere to their Christian or Jewish religion.
The Shaykh : Why were they adhering to their religion in the time of the Messenger?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Then the problem is resolved.
The questioner : The important thing is that it is confirmed that their religion is Christian or Jewish.
The Shaykh : Just like that.
The questioner : This is it. Perhaps some of them are atheists, for example, a Christian?
The Shaykh : And unfortunately, this exists among Muslims.
The questioner : It is not permissible to take her, of course. Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : How are you, our professor?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : And if Allah wills, you are well, my professor.
The Shaykh : Like al-Husayn, if Allah wills, I am well.
The questioner : May Allah honor you and bless you.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : My dear professor, in fact, there is a verse
And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe
ولا تنكحوا المشركات حتى يؤمنThe Shaykh : There is no problem, my brother, for one who knows this. Because among the scientific principles of jurisprudence is that the general is excepted by the specific, and the lesser is excepted from the greater. As you noticed in your question, "polytheists" is a general term that includes everyone who is not Muslim, including the Jews and the Christians. So when a text permits Muslims to marry a type of these polytheists, then this lesser type is excepted from the greater type. The greater type is polytheists, and the lesser type is the Jews and the Christians. So it is as if Allah (Mighty and Majestic), when He mentioned and prohibited marrying polytheist women, gave us in the other verse
chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you
والمحصنات من الذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبلكمProhibited to you are dead animals
حرمت عليكم الميتةProhibited to you are dead animals
حرمت عليكم الميتةThe questioner : Of course, this applies to Christian and Jewish women in this era with certainty, even if they do not adhere to their Christian or Jewish religion.
The Shaykh : Why were they adhering to their religion in the time of the Messenger?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Then the problem is resolved.
The questioner : The important thing is that it is confirmed that their religion is Christian or Jewish.
The Shaykh : Just like that.
The questioner : This is it. Perhaps some of them are atheists, for example, a Christian?
The Shaykh : And unfortunately, this exists among Muslims.
The questioner : It is not permissible to take her, of course. Yes, that is right.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.