Marriage to a Jew

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.

Dear Questioner,

I pray this message finds you well.

Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men, Jewish or otherwise.

The clear proofs of this prohibition are in the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace.

For example, the Qur'an says,

"Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters), until they believe: A slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allures you. Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe: A man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even though he allures you. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the Fire. But God beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: That they may celebrate His praise." (Al-Baqarah, 2:221)

The only exception to this verse is the following, which permits Muslim men to marry Christian and Jewish women:

"This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter." (Al-Maidah, 5:5)

The consensus of scholars from the Sunni tradition is that Muslim men are permitted to marry Christian and Jewish women under certain circumstances, even though it is better for them to seek Muslim wives. Muslim women, however, can only marry Muslim men.

Your Jewish friend was incorrect to interpret this ruling in the context of Jewish law. Islamic law has its own logic and these and similar rulings must be understood from within Muslims' own historical, social, and legal contexts.

Islamic law presupposes that the children will take the religion of their father. Therefore, if a Muslim woman were to marry a non-Muslim man, there is a legitimate concern that her children would not be raised as Muslims. Unlike a Muslim man, who is required by his religion to respect his Christian or Jewish wife's beliefs, a non-Muslim man is in no way required by his religion to respect his Muslim wife's beliefs. Therefore, the minimum requirement for a Muslim woman is that her husband share her faith.

Returning to the time of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, there is no evidence that he permitted Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men. To the contrary, there is strong evidence that Muslim women refused to marry non-Muslim men until they sincerely embraced Islam.

And Allah knows best.