Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from the Followers of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
To: Kasozi Ramadhan
Question:
Assalaam alaykm warahamatullah wabarakatuh, our respected Sheik. May Allahu (swt) protect you.
My question is about "The people of the book".
- Who are the people of the of the book?
- Quran say that we can marry them and eat meat slaughtered by them. Such people are still existing today.
- How are they differ from Christians and Jews?
I will be very greatful if my question reach on your table.
KASOZI RAMADHAN from Uganda
Answer:
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,
It seems you are referring in your question to the words of Allah (swt):
الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِي أَخْدَانٍ
"This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers." (Al-Ma'idah [5]: 5)
This is the verse that permits the slaughtered meat of the People of the Book and permits marrying their women...
The People of the Book, i.e., "those who were given the Scripture" in this verse, are the Jews and the Christians... This is also the opinion of the majority of jurists as stated in the Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence... The slaughtered meat of Jews and Christians and marriage to their women are permissible as per the Sharia texts. The disbelief (kufr) and polytheism (shirk) present in their religions do not affect this ruling. The Jews and Christians during the time of the Prophet ﷺ were in a state of disbelief, polytheism, and misguidance, yet they were still considered People of the Book. The Messenger ﷺ affirmed this. In the time of the Messenger ﷺ, they were as they are today: the Christians associate partners with Allah regarding Jesus (as), and the Jews associate partners with Allah regarding Uzair (as):
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّه
"The Jews say, 'Ezra is the son of Allah'; and the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the son of Allah.'" (At-Tawbah [9]: 30)
Despite this, the Messenger ﷺ treated them as People of the Book regarding the permissibility of eating their slaughtered meat and marrying their women.
As for the disbelievers other than Christians and Jews, such as the Magians (Zoroastrians) for example, the Messenger ﷺ did not permit this for them:
Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated in his Musannaf from Al-Hasan bin Muhammad that the Prophet ﷺ:
كتب إلى مجوس أهل هجر يعرض عليهم الإسلام فمن أسلم قبل منه ومن لم يسلم ضرب عليه الجزية غير ناكحي نسائهم ولا آكلي ذبائحهم
"He wrote to the Magians of the people of Hajar, offering them Islam. Whoever accepted Islam, it was accepted from him, and whoever did not, the Jizyah was imposed upon him, without marrying their women or eating their slaughtered meat."
Al-Haythami mentioned something similar in his book Bughyat al-Bahith 'an Zawa'id Musnad al-Harith, stating that Abdul Aziz bin Aban narrated to us from Sufyan from Qays bin Muslim from Al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abi Talib who said:
كتب رسول الله ﷺ إلى مجوس هجر يسألهم الإسلام فمن أسلم قبل منه إسلامه ومن أبى أخذت منه الجزية غير ناكحي نسائهم ولا آكلي ذبائحهم
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote to the Magians of Hajar, asking them to embrace Islam. Whoever embraced Islam, his Islam was accepted, and whoever refused, the Jizyah was taken from him, without marrying their women or eating their slaughtered meat."
Accordingly, the People of the Book mentioned in the noble verse are the Christians and Jews, and they exist today. The verse does not include other disbelievers who are not Christians or Jews. These two categories (Jews and Christians) are the ones whose slaughtered meat may be eaten and whose women may be married.
However, there are two matters that must be pointed out regarding the permissibility of eating the slaughtered meat of the People of the Book and marrying their women:
The slaughtered meat of the People of the Book that is permissible to eat is that which is permissible in Sharia and is slaughtered according to Sharia requirements (dhakah shar'iyyah):
- It is not permissible to eat their meat if it is from categories prohibited in Islam, such as pork. Eating this is forbidden whether the slaughterer is a Muslim or a person of the Book... Thus, the permissibility of eating the meat of the People of the Book is restricted to animals and birds that the Lawgiver (Allah) has permitted us to eat.
- Likewise, it is not permissible to eat what has not been slaughtered correctly; that is, it is not permissible to eat what the People of the Book have not slaughtered according to Sharia-compliant slaughter, such as if they strangle the animal or bird, hit it on the head, or electrocute it to death... as happens in some factories in the West today... Such meat is not permissible to eat because it is considered "carrion" (maytah) in Sharia, which is forbidden to eat. Just as it is not permissible to eat such an animal if the actor (who killed the animal without Sharia slaughter) was a Muslim, it is likewise not permissible to eat it if the actor was from the People of the Book, without distinction.
The noble verse stipulated "chastity" (al-ihsan) for marrying their women. The text of the verse says:
الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُم
"This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you." (Al-Ma'idah [5]: 5)
A chaste woman (muhsanah) is one who is modest and whose condition is decent, and who is not known to practice adultery (zina). This is established among Muslim women. As for the Jews and Christians in our era, as is the case in Western countries, adultery is common among them like eating and drinking; it is a normal matter practiced by men and women without objection, and you rarely find a woman among them who has reached maturity and remained away from adultery... Therefore, before it is permissible to marry a woman from the People of the Book, it must be verified that she is of decent conduct and not known for practicing adultery.
Accordingly, marrying women from the People of the Book is permissible if she is chaste, modest, and does not practice adultery. If this is her condition, then it is permissible to marry her... Although it is permissible in this case, it is better to marry a Muslim woman. It was authentically reported from Umar (ra) that he used to advise the Companions not to marry from the People of the Book, but rather from Muslim women, so that no Muslim woman remains without marriage...
I hope this answer has clarified the matter for you.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
21 Shawwal 1440 AH Corresponding to 24/06/2019 CE