Q1. I'm French so pardon my question if is it is already
addressed at your site. I read your fatwa
about interfaith marriage and need some additional clarification. I learnt that
Muslim women have the right to not take care of their children. I mean, if
she doesn't want to educate them, she's free to not do so, and her husband must
do everything for them as kids depend on their father. What is your view on
this?
A1. It is true that kids (especially boys) spent more time with
their fathers centuries ago as the father was the parent who passed on whatever
skills he had to his son(s), there were no educational institutions, etc. as we
know them today. We are unaware of any culture or religion that absolves a mother
from taking care of her children, and if the mother is exempt, why shouldn't
the father be? Doesn't Islam promote equality of the sexes? And if the father
is the breadwinner in the home and expected to provide for his wife and
children, is he supposed to take his children to work with him if he cannot
afford daycare? We live in a different era where the mother is the more
influential parent in children's lives. There is nothing in the Qur'an that
forbids Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. Muslims have jumped to the
conclusion that because the Qur'an states Muslim men are permitted to marry
non-Muslim women, then Muslim women are therefore not permitted to marry
non-Muslim men. We cannot speculate and introduce legislation that we claim
comes from God in the absence of such rulings.
Q2. The imam Dr. Al Ajami wrote a fatwa
that says exactly the same thing as yours. The fatwa is written in French, the link is Mixed marriage: what does the Koran really say? Do
you think his explanation is right; especially the one he gave to S5.V5 at the
above link? How can we explain "the silence" about the Muslim woman's
wedding in S5.V5?
A2. We are in agreement because the message from Dr. Al Ajami's fatwa
underlines that which is agreed upon by jurists: the Qur'an must specify
exactly what is forbidden. The verse in question talks about something that is
allowed without saying what is forbidden. Our view on this matter is that the
Muslims had to raise a question about the matter, since with the backdrop of
the law of the "People of the Book" being a paradigm, the question of
Solomon's marriages to women outside of his umma was an issue of importance.
As you may know, he married women who were from outside of the tribe of Israel
and they supposedly introduced polytheism and idol worship as that was their
practice. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Posted August 28, 2011