Fighting For Love: Permitted To Marry Anyone He Likes Of The Women Whom Allaah Has Allowed Him To Marry
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
Why it is
not permissible for a muslim boy to marry who he
wants? I have read that he could marry any girl who is
a jew or christian? What is usually the reaction of
their parents? Do they accept him and give him
support? I think he should fight for the love he feel
for someone who is a non muslim. What do you think? He
is not doing nothing wrong, just being happy. I will
like to receive a response. I am very interested.
Thanks,
Praise be to Allaah.
A Muslim man
is permitted to marry anyone he likes of the women
whom Allaah has allowed him to marry, but he is
encouraged to marry a Muslim woman who is religious
and has a good moral character (because this is the
basis of true happiness). Similarly, he is permitted
to marry a chaste woman of the People of the Book,
i.e., Jews and Christians. Another basis for a happy
marriage is that his parents should be pleased with
his choice of bride, and part of the way in which
parents show their love and kindness towards their son
is by helping him to get married, whether financially
or in other ways. As regards what you say about
striving and fighting for the sake of love, we should
stop and think about this matter carefully. We believe
that feeling love for a particular woman is not the
be-all and end-all in a Muslim's life, for which he
should give up everything that matters to him. No way!
The Muslim is wise and pays attention to everything
that is in his interests, such as the woman's
religious commitment and moral character, his parents'
approval, his own honour and reputation among people,
the future of the marriage and its potential to
endure, whether any bad things will result from his
marriage to a particular woman and whether this
outweighs his interests, the environment in which the
children of the marriage will grow up, the nature of
his future in-laws with whom he will have to mix, etc.
It is not the matter of a fleeting desire, rather it
is the matter of one's future and eventual destiny.
Finally, we say that the love of a woman is not some
god to be worshipped, rather it is a matter that is
governed by the laws of the One God, Allaah, the Lord
of the Worlds.