A man married a woman from the People of the Book and has daughters and sons from her
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The questioner : A man married a woman from the People of the Book and has daughters and sons from her. My question is: Is it permissible to wash and pray over the children if they die while still Christian, and also to bury them in Muslim cemeteries?
The Shaykh : Is the man who married her a Muslim?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : A Muslim married a Christian woman...
The questioner : A man married; he did not state the facts clearly, but it appears he is saying a Muslim man married a woman from the People of the Book, yes.
The Shaykh : If a Muslim man marries a woman from the People of the Book.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : His children would be Muslims, because children follow the better of the two parents in religion, follow the father in lineage, and follow the mother in matters of slavery and freedom. In the case of animals, the offspring follows the worse of the two parents.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is the well-known rule among scholars. If a Muslim marries a Christian woman, his children are Muslims. If one of these children dies, he is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and then buried in Muslim cemeteries.
I said: and follows the father in lineage.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if a Qurayshi man marries a Tamimi woman, the child is Qurayshi and not Tamimi. And the reverse is the reverse: if a Tamimi man marries a Qurayshi woman, the child is Tamimi and not Qurayshi.
And follows the mother in matters of slavery and freedom. So if a free man marries a slave woman, and it is known that there are conditions for a free man to marry a slave woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then if she gives birth to a child, his child will be a slave to the owner of the mother, meaning he will be a slave to the owner of the mother. And if a slave marries a free woman and she gives birth to a child, then her children will be free and not slaves to the owner of their father.
I said: In animals, it follows the worse of the two parents. For this reason, we say that the mule, which is born from the donkey mounting the horse, is impure and forbidden following its father the donkey, and it is not pure and permissible following its mother the horse. This is because the side of prohibition is given precedence, because it is not possible to avoid this forbidden matter mixed with the permissible except by avoiding both. And what is necessary for the completion of an obligatory act is itself obligatory. For this reason, the scholars said: The offspring in animals follows the worse of the two parents and the most impure of the two parents. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. The listener from Buraydah, who used the initials H M for her name, says.
The Shaykh : Is the man who married her a Muslim?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : A Muslim married a Christian woman...
The questioner : A man married; he did not state the facts clearly, but it appears he is saying a Muslim man married a woman from the People of the Book, yes.
The Shaykh : If a Muslim man marries a woman from the People of the Book.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : His children would be Muslims, because children follow the better of the two parents in religion, follow the father in lineage, and follow the mother in matters of slavery and freedom. In the case of animals, the offspring follows the worse of the two parents.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is the well-known rule among scholars. If a Muslim marries a Christian woman, his children are Muslims. If one of these children dies, he is washed, shrouded, prayed over, and then buried in Muslim cemeteries.
I said: and follows the father in lineage.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if a Qurayshi man marries a Tamimi woman, the child is Qurayshi and not Tamimi. And the reverse is the reverse: if a Tamimi man marries a Qurayshi woman, the child is Tamimi and not Qurayshi.
And follows the mother in matters of slavery and freedom. So if a free man marries a slave woman, and it is known that there are conditions for a free man to marry a slave woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then if she gives birth to a child, his child will be a slave to the owner of the mother, meaning he will be a slave to the owner of the mother. And if a slave marries a free woman and she gives birth to a child, then her children will be free and not slaves to the owner of their father.
I said: In animals, it follows the worse of the two parents. For this reason, we say that the mule, which is born from the donkey mounting the horse, is impure and forbidden following its father the donkey, and it is not pure and permissible following its mother the horse. This is because the side of prohibition is given precedence, because it is not possible to avoid this forbidden matter mixed with the permissible except by avoiding both. And what is necessary for the completion of an obligatory act is itself obligatory. For this reason, the scholars said: The offspring in animals follows the worse of the two parents and the most impure of the two parents. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. The listener from Buraydah, who used the initials H M for her name, says.