The concept of him following his religion and she hers is fraught with spiritual danger. The consequences that we have witnessed from such an amalgam of religious diversity were disastrous to say the least. In a nikah of this nature, if the husband happens to be of weak iemaan, he loses control of the marriage, thus opening the door for un-Islamic, kufr values to pervade his home. Eventually his children become influenced by the same evil and anti-Islamic values. They then grow up as followers of their kaafier mother’s religion. Some of them have totally lost their iemaan, whilst others remained Muslim only in name. It is obvious that in following the mother’s religion there is greater freedom and convenience. There is neither salah to perform, nor any fast to observe. There is no need to endure the difficulty of waking up early, nor any need to brave the cold in making wudhu and stepping out for Fajr salah. In short, the children are likely to opt for the easy way out. In today's times of iemaani decline and spiritual retrogression, such a pathetic and tragic situation is almost a foregone conclusion, should Muslim males be granted permission to marry non-Muslim women. Even on the assumption that the husband is one of strong iemaan (and we hasten to add, such a man would never enter into a marriage like this in the very first place), it becomes a nightmare to produce an Islamic environment while cohabiting with a kaafiera (non-Muslim female). Given the lack of Islamic knowledge among menfolk today, it seems almost impossible for a Muslim man to survive such a marriage without sustaining severe damage to his iemaan and amal. Another grave harm that develops from such a nikah is the confusion of belief and practice among the children of that marriage. They grew up totally confused and directionless. Should a divorce occur, those children will be lost to the kaafier family of the mother, in view of the Western laws of custody. Muslims today lack strong religious backing, and their iemaan is at a very low ebb. Already there is a strong Western influence and flavour that dominate our lives. Bringing a Western orientated woman, of Christian or Jewish religious origins and culture into the home will only serve to enhance the Western dominated environment in our homes. There is even the danger of weaker Muslims totally losing their Islamic moorings. May Allah Ta’ala save us from such a deplorable situation, aameen.

Q. Is a Muslim woman allowed to marry a man of another religion without him changing his religion or does he have to change his religion before nikah.
A. If a Muslim female wishes to marry a non-Muslim, it is imperative that he first convert to Islam and only then will the marriage be permissible and valid. It is not permitted in Islam for her to marry a kaafier. If she does so, she will be committing zinaa.

Q. If a child is born out of wedlock and the mother of the child is Christian but the father of the child is Muslim, are they allowed to baptise the child as a Christian and later on have the child follow Islam?
A. It is not permissible for a Muslim to perform or agree to baptism, for this is a practice alien to Islam. In cases of this nature the biological father should strive to bring that child up as a Muslim. It must also be remembered that the biological father will not be considered the real father by Shariah. Therefore, that child will not inherit from its biological father, nor is there any relationship between them. However, such a child cannot marry any of the father’s mehram relatives, according to the Hanafi mazh-hab.

If the mother was a Muslim then according to Shariah the child would be given to her and would bear her family name. But in this case, her being a kaafiera, it is better that the man responsible for that baby endeavour to bring the child up as a Muslim if possible. It is obviously important that all efforts be exhausted to save a soul from being lost to kufr and ending up in Hell-fire.

Q. May a Christian woman and Muslim man who want to marry, make nikah and get married in Church?
A. For such a nikah to be recognised by Shariah the woman must first convert to Islam. Secondly, the nikah should be solemnised according to Islamic rites. Once this is done, their marriage will be valid. If after having done this they conduct a second wedding ceremony in Church then this is a major sin for which they must make tauba unto Allah, although their nikah performed under Islamic rites will still be valid. However, if the couple got married in church only without any Islamic nikah then this is totally haraam and their ’church marriage’ is null and void. Should they stay together, it will be fornication compounded.

Q. A story has been going around about a heavy storm or bang in the sky that is going to take place tomorrow (5 November 2003) which will be a sign of qiyaamat. Please enlighten me accordingly.
A. I have heard no story of this nature, other than the deafening and mad-driving bang of fireworks! As for a sign of qiyamat, well there are many that are around nowadays and more will still follow. Please ignore such warnings of pending doom and disaster, except what is mentioned clearly in the Quran and Hadith. Keep up good a'maal as always, for this is the sunnat method of preparing for qiyamat, whenever it may arrive.