Interfaith Marriages – Why can’t a Muslim Woman marry a non-Muslim Man?
Interfaith Marriages – Why can’t a Muslim Woman marry a non-Muslim Man?
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
People often ask the question that if Muslim men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women, why Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men. Firstly it is important to point out that Muslim men are not allowed to marry any non-Muslim women. The only people with whom the Muslim man is allowed to marry are from the People of the Book i.e. those who have faith in the previous revelations informed by Allah(swt).
“… (lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers, but chaste women among the People of the Book, revealed before your time, – when ye give them their due dowers, and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor secret intrigues if any one rejects faith, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).” – [Quran 5:5]
Hazrat Zainab (ra)
Hazrat Zainab (ra)
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
Hazrat Zainab was one of the most knowledgeable Muslim women. The daughter of the fourth Caliph Hazrat Ali (ra) was respected a lot for her knowledge. She obtained her knowledge from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and when Hazrat Ali (ra) moved to Kufa, the women there sought his permission through their husbands to allow them to acquire knowledge from Hazrat Zainab (ra). She became known as ‘The Wise Lady of the Hashim Clan’ (Aqeelat-al-Bani Hashim). This taught the Muslim world that Islam allows women to get education unlike the culture prevalent in those days which practiced the oppression of women and prevented them from getting any education. The life of Hazrat Zainab (ra) teaches the Muslims some very important lessons. Since times immemorial till present as is seen in many cultures, women are oppressed and normally parents do not wish to waste money on their education because they feel it is not important. However when examples are taken from the history of Islamic personalities, it becomes clear that women had full rights to obtain education and even impart that education i.e. become teachers. Fourteen hundred years ago when people would bury female babies, oppress women and consider them not to be wise, Hazrat Zainab (ra) was one of the Muslim women who proved that women were as intelligent and capable as any man. Her intelligence was without any comparison and no male could match up with her knowledge and wisdom. Imam Ali Zayn-ul-Abideen (ra) gave her the name ‘Alimah Ghair Mualimmah’ which would roughly mean ‘scholar without a teacher’. Her brothers Imam Hasan (ra) and Imam Hussain (ra) respected her and her knowledge a lot. She had an active role in society and would teach the women of Medina about Islam and imparted to them her knowledge of the Quran and Islam. Her ability to teach with clarity became well known for which she was further given the titles ‘Baligah’ and ‘Fasihah’ meaning ‘intensely eloquent’ and ‘skillfully fluent’. Her life was devoted to the Muslim community and she did not show any attachment to the material gains even though her husband was a wealthy man. She led a modest life without the luxuries and only the necessities.
Slaves in Islam – The Concept & Their Rights
Slaves in Islam – The Concept & Their Rights
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
Slavery is a concept that existed since pre-recorded history. However the way it was practiced in the Islamic world differs greatly than how it was practiced in the rest of the world. Even in the more recent times, centuries after the introduction of Islam, the non-Muslims have practiced slavery in the most barbaric manner. The whole Trans-Atlantic nonsense that was practiced by the Americans is one of the worst forms of slavery man has witnessed. The slaves were not treated as humans and did not have any rights. This way was much similar to the form practiced before the advent of Islam in the Times of Ignorance (Ja’hilah). Islam indeed came as a blessing to all Mankind and it was seen that slaves were given rights, something which the rest of the world never gave them.
Treatment of Slaves
Apart from giving the slaves their rights, Islam also took it a step ahead and discouraged slavery from being practiced. It is seen in history that slaves were mistreated in the non-Islamic world. Not only were they verbally abused, they were physically abused as well. The master would overburden the slave and make them work all day. Slaves would wear torn and tattered clothes while the masters would dress with the finest threads available. When it would come to food, the slaves would get leftovers or if not, very little food which would certainly not include good quality food. Some would not even get meat or fruits which their masters ate. Prophet Muhammad(saw) with Divine Inspiration from Allah(swt) forbade such acts. Masters could not abuse their slaves and had to give them the same that they ate and wore.
