Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (12/147)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

be committed to the pure religion of the Jews and Christians, or is this not a condition?

Some scholars said that it is a condition that she affirm Allah’s oneness and not associate anything with Him; yet she follows only Moses, if she is Jewish, or Jesus, if she is Christian. If she opposes Islam and commits shirk (associating partners with Allah), then she is not lawful. They sought thereby to reconcile the verse in Surat al-Ma'idah with the verse in Surat al-Baqarah. They said: if she associates partners with Allah, even if she is Jewish or Christian, then she is not lawful. But if she does not associate partners with Allah, even if she does not follow the Islam brought by Muhammad, then she is lawful. Thus, the point of His saying, “and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you,” is that a non-Muslim woman has been made lawful—not that a woman who associates partners with Allah has been made lawful. Many scholars, both early and later, held this view. According to this opinion, if a Christian woman says that Allah is the third of three, she is not lawful, even if she follows the Christian religion. Likewise, if a Jewish woman says that Ezra is the son of Allah, she is not lawful, because she associates partners with Allah.

Most scholars, however, held that the verse, “from among those who were given the Scripture,” is general: everyone who affiliates himself with the religion of the People of the Scripture is among them. They said that this qualifies the saying of Allah Most High in Surat al-Baqarah: “Do not marry idolatrous women until they believe,” because the verse in Surat al-Baqarah preceded the verse in Surat al-Ma'idah. Yet this reasoning is, in fact, unsound, for specification is unaffected by whether the qualifying text comes earlier or later. The clear proof, however, is that Allah mentioned in Surat al-Ma'idah the lawfulness of the women of the People of the Scripture, while also recounting their shirk and declaring them disbelievers. He said:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’” [Al-Ma'idah 5:73]

And He said:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’” [Al-Ma'idah 5:17]

And He said:

تكون ملتزمة بالدين الخالص لليهود والنصارى، أو لا يشترط؟ قال بعض أهل العلم: إنه يشترط بأن توحد الله ﷿ ولا تشرك به شيئاً، ولكنها لا تتبع إلا موسى ﵊ إن كانت يهودية، أو عيسى ﵊ إن كانت نصرانية، فإن خالفت الإسلام وأشركت فإنها لا تحل، وهؤلاء راموا الجمع بين آية المائدة وآية البقرة، فقالوا: إذا أشركت بالله، ولو كانت يهودية أو نصرانية فلا تحل، وأما إذا كانت غير مشركة بالله وإن لم تَدِنْ بالإسلام الذي جاء به محمد ﵊ فإنها تحل، وتكون الفائدة من قوله: ﴿وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ﴾ أنها غير مسلمة وحلت، لا أنها مشركة وحلت، وإلى هذا ذهب كثير من أهل العلم من السلف والخلف، وعلى هذا الرأي إذا كانت النصرانية تقول بأن الله ثالث ثلاثة، فإنها لا تحل ولو تدينت بدين النصارى، وكذلك اليهودية إذا قالت: عزير ابن الله فإنه لا تحل؛ لأنها مشركة. وذهب أكثر أهل العلم إلى أن الآية: ﴿مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ﴾ عامة، فكل من انتمى إلى دين أهل الكتاب فهو منهم، وقالوا: إن هذا مخصص لقوله ـ تعالى ـ في سورة البقرة: ﴿وَلَا تَنْكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكَاتِ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنَّ﴾ لأن آية البقرة متقدمة على آية المائدة، ثم هذا التعليل في الحقيقة عليل؛ لأن التخصيص لا فرق فيه بين المتقدم والمتأخر، لكن الدليل الواضح هو أن الله ذكر في سورة المائدة حل نساء أهل الكتاب، وحكى عنهم الشرك وكفَّرهم أيضاً ﷾ فقال: ﴿لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلَاثَةٍ﴾ [المائدة: ٧٣]، وقال: ﴿لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ﴾ [المائدة: ١٧]، وقال: