No Compulsion In Religion

No Compulsion in Religion – لا إكراه في الدين

Many scholars said, that a Muslim man CANNOT stop his Christian or Jewish WIFE from drinking alcohol, eating pork or going to the church.

1- Imam Maalik said 1,200 years ago:
وقال مالك : ليس للرجل أن يمنع امرأته النصرانية من أكل الخنزير وشرب الخمر والذهاب إلى الكنائس إذا كانت نصرانية
“It is not for a [Muslim] man to prevent his Christian wife from eating pork or drinking wine or from going to church as long as she is a Christian.”
[“Al-Mudawanah”, 2/220].

2- Imam Al-Dasuqi says:
إنما كره مالك ذلك في بلد الاسلام لأنها تتغذى بالخمر والخنزير وتغذي ولده بهما وهو يقبلها ويضاجعها وليس له منعها من ذلك التغذي ولو تضرر برائحته ولا من الذهاب للكنيسة
“Imam Malik disliked this type of union in Islamic countries because she will drink wine, eat pork and also feed her child with it. He will also be intimately close with her. Technically speaking, he cannot prevent her from these acts, even if the smell of it irritates him. He also cannot prevent her from going to the church.”
[“Hashiyah’, 2/268].

3- Imam al-Nafrawi says:
وإنما كره نكاحها في بلاد المسلمين لأن الزوج ليس له منعها من أكل الخنزير ولا من شرب الخمر ولا من الذهاب إلى الكنيسة، وهذا يؤدي إلى تربية الولد على دينها
“Marrying them is disliked in Muslim lands because the Muslim husband cannot prevent her from eating pork and drinking wine. Nor can he stop her from going to the church. These things lead her to bring up the children on her religion.”
[‘Al-Fawakih al-Dawani’, 2/19].

4- Ibn Humam al-Hanafi wrote 500 years ago:
وإذا أتلف المسلم خمر الذمي أو خنزيره ضمن قيمتهما
الخمر لهم كالخل لنا ، والخنزير لهم كالشاة لنا ، ونحن أمرنا بأن نتركهم
“If a Muslim damages the wine stocks or pigs of a non-believer living under covenant with us, the Muslim has to pay compensation for these damages. Wine for them is like vinegar get for us. Pork for them is like lamb for us. We are commanded to leave them to their ways.”
[“Fath al-Qadir”, 9/358].

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Islam was praised for this freedom for many centuries.
Other scholars disagreed and said that a Muslim man should prevent his Christian or Jewish wife from these things, because of the impact it has on his children and due to the principle of “تكليف غير المسلم بالفروع الفقهية”.
Imam Shaafi’i is of that opinion.
From Imam Ahmad are two conflicting opinions narrated on this issue – one of them is that he cannot stop her as Imam Malik said.
This is not to argue which position is correct and incorrect – but to show that these type of views existed many centuries ago.

Muslims believe that the ONLY path to salvation is ISLAAM (Qur’an 3:19), but we DO NOT force our religion on others (Qur’an 2:256).

Allaahu A’alam