Permissibility of Marrying Chaste Jewish or Christian Women in Islam

❖ Extracted from the book​

✿ Marriage with Chaste Women from the People of the Book is Permissible ✿​

Quranic Permission​

Allah ﷻ says:


﴿وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ﴾
“And [lawful to you are] chaste women from among the believing women and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you.”
Sūrah al-Mā’idah (5:5)

❖ Clarification:​

✔ This verse explicitly permits Muslim men to marry chaste women from the People of the Book, i.e., Jews and Christians.


✔ The condition is that such women must be muhṣanāt—chaste and morally upright, not immoral or promiscuous.


✔ The allowance applies even if these women remain on their own religion, as long as they observe chastity.

❖ Important Warning:​

It is ḥarām (forbidden) for a Muslim woman to marry a Jewish or Christian man.
This prohibition is based on consensus among scholars and supported by Islamic legal principles to preserve the faith and identity of Muslim women and their offspring.

◈ Key Points:​

① A Muslim man may marry a Jewish or Christian woman if she is chaste and upright.
② Immoral women, regardless of their faith, are not eligible for marriage in Islam.
③ This ruling does not permit Muslim women to marry men from the People of the Book.
④ The underlying condition in all marital contracts is the protection and preservation of dīn (faith).