The Ruling on the Slaughter of the People of the Book, the Marriage of Their Women, and Who Are the Rightly Guided Caliphs

Q: Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. As for what follows: Some of my brothers asked me about four issues, and this is the text of the question and the answer:
The first: What is the ruling on the slaughter of the People of the Book?
The second: What is the ruling on marrying their women?
The third: Who are the People of the Book?
The fourth: Who are the Rightly Guided Caliphs after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?

A: And this is the text of the answer. And Allah is the One who grants success, Exalted is He, there is no deity but Him and no Lord besides Him, and He is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs.

The First Issue: What is the ruling on the slaughter of the People of the Book?
The Answer: The ruling is that it is lawful and permissible by scholarly consensus, provided it is not known that it was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah-prescribed method, such as strangling or the like; for Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 5]. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his tafsir of this verse, and this is the exact text: "When the Exalted mentioned what He has forbidden to His believing servants from the impure things, and what He has made lawful for them from the good things, He then said: Then He mentioned the ruling regarding the slaughter of the two People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, and He said: Ibn Abbas, Abu Umamah, Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ikrimah, Ata, Al-Hasan, Makحول, Ibrahim An-Nakha'i, As-Suddi, and Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: It means their slaughter. This is a matter agreed upon by the scholars that their slaughter is lawful for Muslims; because they believe that slaughtering for other than Allah is forbidden, and they do not invoke over their slaughter anything but the name of Allah, even if they believe in Him the Exalted what He is free from, Exalted and Pure is He.
It is established in the authentic hadith from Abdullah ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I lowered a sack of fat on the day of Khaybar, and I guarded it and said, 'I will not give anyone from this today.' I turned around and saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiling." The jurists used this as evidence that it is permissible to take what is needed from food and the like from the war spoils before the division. This is clear. The Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali jurists used this as evidence against the followers of Malik, who prohibit eating what the Jews believe is forbidden from their slaughter, such as fats and the like of what is forbidden to them. The Malikis do not permit Muslims to eat it, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: They said: This is not from their food. The majority of scholars used this hadith as evidence against them, and there is consideration in this; because it is a specific case, and it is possible that it was fat they believe is lawful, such as the fat of the back and the intestines and the like. And Allah knows best.
And stronger in indication is what is established in the authentic hadith that the people of Khaybar gifted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a roasted sheep, and they had poisoned its leg. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) liked the leg, so he took it and took a bite from it. The leg informed him that it was poisoned, so he spat it out. The effect of it was in the folds of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and in his artery. Bashir ibn al-Bara' ibn Ma'rur ate with him from it and died. So the Jewish woman who poisoned it was killed, and her name was Zaynab. She was killed in exchange for Bashir ibn al-Bara'. The direction of indication from this is that he intended to eat it, and those with him did not ask them whether they had removed from it what they believe is forbidden from its fat or not?
And in the other hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was hosted by a Jew with barley bread and a foul-tasting sauce, meaning a foul-smelling mash. End of the intended quote from Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him). In it is the indication that the slaughter of the People of the Book is lawful for Muslims by consensus, and so is the fat of their slaughter. Even if it is forbidden to them, it is lawful for us due to the hadiths mentioned above. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, contrary to the followers of Malik (may Allah have mercy on them all).

The second issue: What is the ruling on marrying their women?

Answer: The ruling of that lawfulness and permissibility is with the majority of scholars; for the saying of Allah the Exalted in the previous verse from Surat Al-Ma'idah: [Al-Ma'idah: 5]. Al-Mahdunah: She is the free, chaste woman in the most correct opinion of the scholars of tafsir. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his tafsir of this verse, and this is the exact text: And His saying: Meaning, and He has made lawful for you the marriage of the free, chaste women among the believing women. He mentioned this as a preparation for what follows, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: It was said: He intended by Al-Mahdunat the free women, not the slave women. Ibn Jarir narrated this from Mujahid. And Mujahid said Al-Mahdunat are the free women, so it is possible that he intended what was narrated from him, and it is possible that he intended the free, chaste woman as in the other narration from him. This is the opinion of the majority here, and it is the most likely, so that it does not combine in her that she is a Dhimmi and at the same time not chaste, so her state would be completely corrupted, and her husband would obtain what is said in the proverb: "A dry husk and bad measure."
The apparent meaning of the verse is that the intended meaning of Al-Mahdunat is: those who are chaste from zina, as Allah the Exalted said in the other verse: [An-Nisa: 25]. Then the mufassirs and scholars differed regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: Does it encompass every chaste woman of the People of the Book, whether she is free or a slave? Ibn Jarir narrated this from a group of the Salaf who interpreted Al-Mahdunah as the chaste one. It was said that the intended meaning of the People of the Book here is the Israelites, and this is the madhhab of Ash-Shafi'i. It was said that the intended meaning is the Dhimmi women, not the women of war; for the saying of Allah the Exalted: The verse [At-Tawbah: 29].
And Abdullah ibn Umar did not see fit to marry a Christian woman, and he said: "I do not know a shirk greater than saying that her Lord is Isa." And Allah the Exalted said: The verse [Al-Baqarah: 221].
And Ibn Abi Hatim said: Our father narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Hatim ibn Sulayman Al-Mu'addib narrated to us, Al-Qasim ibn Malik, meaning Al-Muzani, narrated to us, Isma'il ibn Sami' from Abu Malik Al-Ghifari, he said: This verse was revealed: He said: So it held people back from them until the verse after it was revealed: So the people married the women of the People of the Book. A group of the Companions married from the women of the Christians and did not see any harm in it, taking this noble verse: So they made this a specification for the one in Surat Al-Baqarah: If it is said that the women of the Book are included in its generality, otherwise there is no contradiction between them; because the People of the Book have been distinguished in their mention from the polytheists in more than one place, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Bayyinah: 1] and His saying: The verse [Aal 'Imran: 20]. End of the intended quote from Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him).
And Abu Muhammad Muwaffaq al-Din Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah Al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book Al-Mughni, and this is the exact text: "There is no disagreement among the scholars, with the praise of Allah, regarding the lawfulness of the free women of the People of the Book. Among those from whom this is narrated are Umar, Uthman, Talhah, Hudhayfah, Salman, Jabir, and others. Ibn Al-Mundhir said: It is not authentic from any of the early scholars that he forbade it. Al-Khallal narrated with his chain that Hudhayfah, Talhah, Al-Jarud ibn Al-Ma'la, and Adhina Al-'Abdi married women from the People of the Book. The rest of the scholars said the same. The Imamiyyah forbade it, holding to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah: 221] [Al-Mumtahanah: 10]. And for us is the saying of Allah the Exalted: To His saying: [Al-Ma'idah: 5] and the consensus of the Companions.
As for His saying the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah: 221], it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that it was abrogated by the verse in Surat Al-Ma'idah. And it should be so in the other verse as well; because both are earlier, and the verse in Al-Ma'idah is later than them. And others said: This is not abrogation, for the term 'polytheists' in its generality does not encompass the People of the Book, as evidenced by the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Bayyinah: 1] and His saying the Exalted: [Al-Bayyinah: 6] and His saying the Mighty and Majestic: [Al-Ma'idah: 82] and His saying the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah: 105] and the rest of the verses of the Qur'an distinguish between them. So it indicates that the term 'polytheists' in its generality does not encompass the People of the Book. This is the meaning of the saying of Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Qatadah; and because what they argued with is general for every disbelieving woman, and our verse is specific regarding the lawfulness of the women of the People of the Book, and the specific must be given precedence. When this is established, the best is not to marry a woman of the Book; because Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to those who married from the women of the People of the Book: "Divorce them." So they divorced them except Hudhayfah. So Umar said to him: "Divorce her." He said: "Do you testify that she is haram?" He said: "She is khamr (intoxicant), divorce her." He said: "Do you testify that she is haram?" He said: "She is khamr." He said: "I have known that she is khamr, but she is halal for me." When it was later, he divorced her. It was said to him: "Did you not divorce her when Umar ordered you?" He said: "I disliked that people would see that I did something that is not right for me. And because his heart might incline to her and she might lead him astray. And perhaps there would be a child between them, so he would incline to her." End of the words of the author of Al-Mughni (may Allah have mercy on him).
The summary of what al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir and the author of al-Mughni (may Allah have mercy on both of them) stated is that there is no contradiction between His saying in Surat al-Baqarah: verse [al-Baqarah:221] and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in Surat al-Ma'idah: verse [al-Ma'idah:5] for two reasons:
The first is that the People of the Book are not included among the polytheists when the term is used in its general sense; because Allah the Exalted has distinguished between them in many verses, such as His saying (Mighty and Majestic): verse [al-Bayyinah:1] and His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): verse [al-Bayyinah:6] and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): verse [al-Baqarah:105] and other verses that distinguish between the People of the Book and the polytheists. On this basis, the chaste women of the People of the Book would not be included among the polytheist women whose marriage is prohibited in Surat al-Baqarah, so there would remain no contradiction between the two verses. However, this view is subject to scrutiny, and the more likely view is that the People of the Book are included among the polytheists and polytheist women when the term is used in its general sense, both their men and women; because they are disbelievers and polytheists without doubt. For this reason, they are prevented from entering the Sacred Mosque, based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) : verse [al-Tawbah:28]. If the People of the Book were not included in the term "polytheists" in its general sense, this verse would not cover them. And when the Exalted mentioned the belief of the Jews and the Christians in Surat al-Bara'ah, He said after that: [al-Tawbah:31], describing them all with shirk (associating partners with Allah); because the Jews said: "Ezra is the son of Allah," and the Christians said: "The Messiah is the son of Allah," and because they all took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah. This is all among the ugliest forms of shirk, and the verses in this meaning are numerous.
The second reason is that the verse in al-Ma'idah is a specification of the verse in al-Baqarah, and the specific ruling takes precedence over the general one and is given priority over it, as is known in the principles of jurisprudence, and this is agreed upon in general. This is the correct view, and by this it becomes clear that the chaste women of the People of the Book are lawful for Muslims and are not included among the polytheist women whose marriage is prohibited according to the majority of scholars, indeed it is like a consensus among them, as mentioned earlier in the words of the author of al-Mughni. However, refraining from marrying them and being content with chaste women from among the believers is better and more excellent; because of what came regarding this from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), his son Abdullah, and a group of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them). And because marrying women of the People of the Book carries risk, especially in this age where the alienation of Islam has become entrenched, righteous men who are jurists in the religion have become few, and the inclination toward women and listening to and obeying them in everything except what Allah wills has increased. It is feared that the husband will be dragged by his wife of the People of the Book to her religion and her morals, just as it is feared for his children from her in that regard. And Allah is the One to be sought for help.
If it is said: What is the wisdom in permitting the chaste women of the People of the Book to Muslims and not permitting Muslim women to men of the People of the Book? The answer to that—and Allah knows best—is to say: When the Muslims believed in Allah and His messengers and what was revealed to them, including Musa ibn 'Imran and 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon them both), and among what was revealed to the messengers was the Torah revealed to Musa and the Gospel revealed to 'Isa, when the Muslims believed in all of this, Allah permitted them the chaste women of the People of the Book as a favor upon them and a completion of His kindness to them. And when the People of the Book disbelieved in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and what was revealed to him of the great Book, which is the Qur'an, Allah prohibited them from marrying Muslim women until they believe in His Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers. If they believe in him, our women become lawful for them, and they will have what we have, and upon them will be what is upon us. And Allah the Exalted is the Just Judge, the All-Seeing of the conditions of His servants, the All-Knowing of what is good for them, the Wise in everything. Exalted is He, Pure is He, and He is free from the statements of the misguided and the disbelievers and the rest of the polytheists. And there is another wisdom, which is: that the woman is weak and quick to submit to her husband, so if a Muslim woman were permitted to men of the People of the Book, that would usually lead her to the religion of her husband; so the wisdom of Allah the Exalted required the prohibition of that.

The third issue: Who are the People of the Book?

And the answer: They are the Jews and the Christians, as the scholars of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) and others have explicitly stated. As for the Majus (Zoroastrians), they are not among the People of the Book when the term is used in its general sense, but they are treated like them in taking the jizyah (tax on protected non-Muslims) from them; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) took it from them. As for their women and their slaughtered animals, they are forbidden for Muslims according to the four Imams and others, and this is like a consensus among the scholars. There is a rare opinion regarding their permissibility that is not relied upon by the scholars. Among the scholars who explicitly stated what we mentioned is Abu Muhammad Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book al-Mughni, where he said: "Chapter: The People of the Book to whom this ruling applies are the people of the Torah and the Gospel. Allah the Exalted said: [al-An'am:156]. So the people of the Torah are the Jews and the Samaritans, and the people of the Gospel are the Christians and those who agree with them in the origin of their religion, such as the Franks, the Armenians, and others... until he said (may Allah have mercy on him): Chapter: The Majus have no Book, and their slaughtered animals are not lawful, nor is the marriage of their women. Ahmad stated this explicitly, and it is the opinion of the majority of scholars except Abu Thawr, who permitted it based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ; and because it was narrated that Hudhayfah married a Majusi woman; and because they acknowledge the jizyah, so they resemble the Jews and the Christians.
And we have the saying of Allah the Exalted: and His saying: , so He granted a dispensation in that for the People of the Book, so those other than them remain under the general prohibition. It has not been established that the Majus have a Book. Ahmad was asked: Is it authentic from 'Ali that the Majus have a Book? He said: This is false, and he considered it very serious. And if it were established that they have a Book, we have explained that the ruling of the People of the Book is not established for other than the two groups of People of the Book. And his saying (peace be upon him): "Prescribe for them the prescription of the People of the Book," is evidence that they have no Book, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended by that only the preservation of their blood and their acknowledgment of the jizyah, and nothing else. That is because when they had a semblance of a Book, that predominated in the prohibition of their blood, so the ruling of prohibition for their women and their slaughtered animals must predominate. If we predominate the doubt in the prohibition, then predominate the evidence that was opposed by the doubt in the prohibition is more appropriate. It has not been established that Hudhayfah married a Majusi woman, and Ahmad weakened the narration of the one who narrated from Hudhayfah that he married a Majusi woman. And Abu Wa'il said: He says he married a Jewish woman, and that is more reliable than the one who narrated from him that he married a Majusi woman. And Ibn Sirin said: The wife of Hudhayfah was a Christian. And with the contradiction of the narrations, the ruling of one of them is not established except by preference. And even if it were established from Hudhayfah, it is not permissible to argue with it in the face of the contradiction of the Book and the saying of the rest of the scholars. As for their acknowledgment of the jizyah, it is because we predominated the ruling of prohibition for their blood, so the ruling of prohibition must be predominated in their slaughtered animals and their women." This is the intended end of the words of the author of al-Mughni (may Allah have mercy on him). And Allah knows best.

The Fourth Issue: Who is the first Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? And who follows him in sequence, etc.?

And the answer: The people of the Sunnah and the community have agreed that the Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, then 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, then 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, then 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them all). These are their ranks in virtue and caliphate. Some of the people of the Sunnah preferred 'Ali over 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them both), but the majority of the people of the Sunnah gave 'Uthman precedence over 'Ali; because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) gave him precedence over him in the caliphate, and many reports came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) indicating that.
And the Imam Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his famous creed, in which he transmitted the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community: "We love the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we do not go to the extreme in loving any of them, nor do we disavow any of them. We hate those who hate them and mention them with other than good, and we do not mention them except with good. Loving them is religion, faith, and excellence in worship, and hating them is disbelief, hypocrisy, and transgression. We affirm the caliphate after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) first for Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) , giving him preference and precedence over the entire community, then for 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) , then for 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) , then for 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) . They are the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the rightly guided Imams." End of quote.
The Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book titled *Al-Maqalat fi Hikayat Madhhab Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah* (The Doctrines: A Report on the Methodology of the People of the Sunnah and the Community), and the text of his statement is: “The summary of what the people of hadith and the people of the Sunnah adhere to is the affirmation of Allah, His angels, His messengers, and what has come from Allah, and what the trustworthy narrators have reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); they do not reject any of that. They affirm that Allah is one God, unique, the Eternal, who has not taken a wife or a son. They affirm that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. They affirm that Paradise is true, that the Fire is true, that the Hour is coming with no doubt in it, that Allah will resurrect those in the graves, and that Allah the Exalted is above His Throne, as He said: [Taha:5]. They affirm that He has two eyes without asking how, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Qamar:14]. They affirm that He has two hands without asking how, as He the Exalted said: [Sad:75] and His saying: [Al-Ma'idah:64]. They affirm that He has a Face, Glorious is His mention, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Rahman:27]. Until he said (may Allah have mercy on him): “They acknowledge the right of the Salaf whom Allah chose to be the companions of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They take hold of their virtues and refrain from what occurred between them, whether minor or major. They prioritize Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Uthman, then 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). They affirm that they are the rightly guided caliphs and that they are the best of all people after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).” This is the intended portion of his statement (may Allah have mercy on him). By this, it is known that all the people of hadith and the people of the Sunnah prioritize Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Uthman, then 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all) in virtue and caliphate.
And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah*, in which he mentioned the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the Community, and the text of his statement is: “Among the principles of the people of the Sunnah and the Community is the purity of their hearts and tongues regarding the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as Allah described them with that in His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Hashr:10]. They accept what has come in the Book and the Sunnah regarding their virtues and their ranks... Until he said (may Allah have mercy on him): “They affirm what has been transmitted by mass transmission regarding the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib , and others, that the best of this Ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, and they make it a trio with 'Uthman, and a quartet with 'Ali , as indicated by the reports, and as the Companions agreed upon prioritizing 'Uthman in the pledge of allegiance, even though some of the people of the Sunnah differed regarding 'Uthman and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) after they agreed on prioritizing Abu Bakr and 'Umar, debating which of the two was better. So some prioritized 'Uthman and remained silent, making 'Ali the fourth, some prioritized 'Ali, and some refrained from judgment.
However, the matter of the people of the Sunnah settled on prioritizing 'Uthman, then 'Ali. Even though this issue—the issue of 'Uthman and 'Ali—is not one of the principles in which the one who disagrees is declared a disbeliever according to the majority of the people of the Sunnah, but the one in which the disbeliever is declared is the issue of the caliphate. That is because they believe that the caliph after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Uthman, then 'Ali. And whoever criticizes the caliphate of any of these is more astray than the donkey of his own family.” The quotations from the people of the Sunnah in this chapter are numerous, and we hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient for the seeker of the truth.
And I ask Allah to guide us and you and the rest of the Muslims to understanding in His religion and steadfastness upon it, and to rectify our hearts and our deeds all together, and to guide us to His straight path. Indeed, He is Generous, Noble. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.