anything else. Rather, anything else was left unregulated, neither expressly permitted nor prohibited, as with the acts of a child or a mentally unsound person. As stated in the well-known hadith:

“Lawful is what Allah has made lawful in His Book, and forbidden is what Allah has forbidden in His Book. Whatever He has remained silent about is among the things He has overlooked.”

This report is preserved from Salmān al-Fārisī, either as his own statement or as a report traced back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

This is further indicated by Allah’s statement in Sūrat al-Mā’idah:

“Today all good things have been made lawful for you.”

He thus states that He made them lawful that day. Sūrat al-Mā’idah is Medinan by scholarly consensus, while Sūrat al-An‘ām is Meccan by scholarly consensus. It follows that good things were declared lawful in Medina, not Mecca. Allah Most High also says:

“They ask you what has been made lawful for them. Say: ‘All good things have been made lawful for you.’”

And Allah Most High says:

“The food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them”—and the rest of the verse.

Thus, the lawfulness of marriage to women of the People of the Book is established. It has been said that this had either been left unregulated—as is the correct view—or had been forbidden, with that prohibition subsequently abrogated. This is supported by the fact that nothing has abrogated the verse of Sūrat al-Mā’idah.

The second reason

The lawfulness of the food of the People of the Book is established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus. The discussion concerning marriage to their women is the same as that concerning the meat they slaughter: once the lawfulness of either is established, the lawfulness of the other is established as well. Moreover, there is no evidence whatsoever opposing the lawfulness of their food.

Further evidence is that Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān married a Jewish woman, and none of the Companions objected. This indicates that they were unanimous in permitting it.