Is It Permissible to Marry a Kitābiyyah (Jewish or Christian) Woman from Among the Harbi (Non-Muslim Enemies)?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Is it permissible to marry a Kitābiyyah Harbiyyah (a Jewish or Christian woman from a non-Muslim enemy territory)?
Marriage with chaste women from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) is permissible, whether they are Dhimmī (under Muslim protection) or Ḥarbī (from enemy territories).
❀ Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَٱلۡمُحۡصَنَٰتُ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ إِذَآ ءَاتَيۡتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحۡصِنِينَ غَيۡرَ مُسَٰفِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِيٓ أَخۡدَانٍ﴾
“And [permissible are] chaste women from those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation (i.e., mahr), desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse, nor taking them as lovers.”
[Surah al-Mā’idah: 5]
This verse makes no distinction between whether the Kitābiyyah is Ḥarbiyyah (from a hostile nation) or Dhimmiyyah (a protected non-Muslim under Islamic rule).
❀ Imām Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah رحمه الله held the view that marriage with a Ḥarbiyyah Kitābiyyah is not permissible.
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/158 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
However, this is a minority view, and:
✔ The Qur’an makes no such distinction.
✔ Neither the Prophet ﷺ nor the Companions رضي الله عنهم made such a condition.
✔ Therefore, the correct and stronger opinion is that marriage with a chaste Kitābiyyah woman is permissible, regardless of her political status (Ḥarbiyyah or not).
① Marriage to chaste women from the People of the Book (Jews or Christians) is permissible,
➤ Whether they are from Muslim lands (Dhimmī) or non-Muslim enemy lands (Ḥarbī).
② The Qur’an allows it explicitly, with no condition related to their political affiliation.
③ One early scholar (Imām Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah) viewed such marriages as invalid, but this opinion is not supported by Qur’anic or Prophetic evidence.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to marry a Kitābiyyah Harbiyyah (a Jewish or Christian woman from a non-Muslim enemy territory)?
❖ Answer:
Marriage with chaste women from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) is permissible, whether they are Dhimmī (under Muslim protection) or Ḥarbī (from enemy territories).
◈ Evidence from the Qur'an
❀ Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَٱلۡمُحۡصَنَٰتُ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ إِذَآ ءَاتَيۡتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحۡصِنِينَ غَيۡرَ مُسَٰفِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِيٓ أَخۡدَانٍ﴾
“And [permissible are] chaste women from those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation (i.e., mahr), desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse, nor taking them as lovers.”
[Surah al-Mā’idah: 5]This verse makes no distinction between whether the Kitābiyyah is Ḥarbiyyah (from a hostile nation) or Dhimmiyyah (a protected non-Muslim under Islamic rule).
◈ Historical View
❀ Imām Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah رحمه الله held the view that marriage with a Ḥarbiyyah Kitābiyyah is not permissible.
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 4/158 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]However, this is a minority view, and:
✔ The Qur’an makes no such distinction.
✔ Neither the Prophet ﷺ nor the Companions رضي الله عنهم made such a condition.
✔ Therefore, the correct and stronger opinion is that marriage with a chaste Kitābiyyah woman is permissible, regardless of her political status (Ḥarbiyyah or not).
Conclusion:
① Marriage to chaste women from the People of the Book (Jews or Christians) is permissible,
➤ Whether they are from Muslim lands (Dhimmī) or non-Muslim enemy lands (Ḥarbī).
② The Qur’an allows it explicitly, with no condition related to their political affiliation.
③ One early scholar (Imām Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah) viewed such marriages as invalid, but this opinion is not supported by Qur’anic or Prophetic evidence.
