CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE IN ISLAM:

There are several passages and verses in The Holy Qur'an

regarding marriage and family that encourage Muslims to be married,
if possible.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has even said that when a
Muslim marries, he has fulfilled half of the religious devotion and
duties and then he should take care of other half by being God-
minded and aware of his obligations.

Marriage is considered a religious duty in Islam and is

enjoined upon all believers who can afford it. It provides a moral
safeguard and legal means to develop relationship with the opposite
sex and to extend the family. It is both solemn and sacred above
physical terms. It is not only a contract between two persons
committing themselves to each other but it is a contract to which God
Almighty is made the first Witness. It is made with every intention of
making it permanent to the eternal success. Celibacy is NOT
recommended either for Muslim men or women.
"The motivating cause of union - matrimonial and carnal -
between the spouses is said to be love. This is a Qur'anic thesis that
affirms the primacy of love as the cause of marriage, not simple
reproduction. Nevertheless, the religious authorities, almost
unanimously, interpret marriage as primarily reproductive in nature
and as a means of perpetuating the species.

.....Islam views the carnal act as not merely the source of

pleasure but also of as a source of "barakah" means that sexuality
has positive connotations and is not associated with sin.
The following issues must be observed when a marriage
based on Islamic principles is desired Both parties should get
familiarized sincerely with each other without getting involved in
immoral acts or crossing boundaries set by Islamic moral teachings.
No party should attempt to deceive the other in this process.

- Woman should be chosen on the basis of their permanent

values, such as, high morals, religious devotion, and not merely on
her attractiveness or other mundane wealth. ”The Prophet is reported
to have said that a woman is ordinarily sought as wife for her wealth,
for her beauty, for the nobility of her stock, or for her religious
qualities; but blessed and fortunate is he who chooses his mate for
piety in preference to everything else”.

- Woman is encouraged to judge whether the man is actually

worthy of her respect, love and capable of providing her happiness in
the whole life. She should consider if her marriage to the man will be
allow her to fulfill the duties of a wife wholeheartedly.
Islam considers the husband head-of-the-family and therefore
requires that a Muslima cannot marry a non-Muslim because she will
be under the authority of a non-muslim husband. He may prevent her
from carrying out her religious obligations by either pressuring her or
physically abusing her. But it is not the sole reason for imposing the
restriction. The situation is considered very damaging for the woman
to practice Islam afterwards and even worse for the kids in such
marriages. There are no conditions mentioned under which a Muslim
woman is allowed to get married or remain married to a non-Muslim
husband after she has accepted Islam. Therefore, even if she has
freedom to practice Islam after marriage, she is NOT allowed to enter
into an inter-faith marriage.
Concept of Intermarriage in Islam
Intermarriage is a form of exogamy, or marrying outside of
one's social group. Whether that group is defined by religion, sect, or
other difference, the difference is a barrier that is not easy to cross.
The rule of intermarriage varies in respect of both the parties, i.e. the
male and the female.

MUSLIM MAN AND NON-MUSLIM WOMAN:

MARRIAGE WITH CHRISTIANS AND JEWS:

The marriages between Muslim men and CHRISTIANS non-
Muslim women are allowed. However, certain restrictions exist on
such marriages, especially if they occur in non-Muslim lands where
Islamic law and religion is not prevailing.

Here I am translating the "fatwaa" from Maulana Muhammad

Yousuf Ludhianvi, a well-known Muslim scholar from Pakistan,
answering a question regarding the shar'aii position of marriages in
the US with non-Muslim women. This question was asked by a
Pakistani Muslim, living in the US, and it appeared in Maulana's
column that is published every Friday in a daily newspaper, "Jang".
He interprets the Islamic law as following:

1- Non-Muslim women, to whom Muslim men can marry, are

the women from Christian and Jewish religions who are residents of
"Daar-ul-Islam****" nations where Islamic law prevails) and who are
thereby called, "Dhi'mmi" (those who give Jazzia instead of Zakaat in
an Islamic state??), but NOT the residents of "dar al-kufr" (where the
kuffar or non-Islamic rule exist). To these women, marriage is
allowed but is "mukrooh tanzihi." (I can't translate it properly)
2- With Christian or Jewish women, who are resident of "dar
a-harb"****, the nikah (the marriage contract) will be valid, but will be
a "mukrooh Tahrimi" (worse than tanzihi) situation.
The act which is "mukrooh tarhimi" is so close to "haraam" (not
permissible at all) that it is ALMOST "haraam" and is "na'jaiz" I.e. not
legal. The man involved will be responsible for committing an act
which is so close to a state of "sin".
**** Victor Danner describes "Dar al-Islam"as : the
House of Islam, or the Islamic world; the Islamic community,
where submission to the Divine Will reigns;
Opposed to dar- al-harb ( the non-Islamic community)

3- It is required that the women should be practising their

religion at the time of marriage and they are not practically "Mulhid"
(atheist). To any women, who doesn't believe in God, religion, God's
message and doesn't practise any religion at all, the "nikaah"
(marriage) will be INVALID and according to "shari'ah" (Islamic Law),
such a couple is involved in sin.

MARRIAGE WITH KUFFARS:

Marriages between Muslims and atheists are not permissible

at all. In such cases, the man or woman should accept Islam before
entering into a shar'ai legal "nikaah."

And do not marry Al-Mushrikats {idolatress, etc.} till they

believe (worship Allah alone). And indeed a slave woman is better
than a (free) Mushrikah {idolatress, etc.}, even though she pleases
you. And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikun** till
they believe in Allah alone and verily a believing slave is better than a
(free) Mushrik, even though he pleases you.Those Al-Mushrikun
invite you to the Fire {Al naar}, but Allah invites you to the Paradise
and Forgiveness by
His Leave, and makes His Ayaat {proofs, evidences, lessons,
verses, signs, etc.} clear to mankind that they may remember.
[Surah 2:221] [[6]]
"...... (Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste
women who are believers, but chaste women among the People of
the Book revealed before your time, when you give them their due
dowries, and desire chastity, not lewdness, nor sectret intrigues. If
anyone rejects faith, fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he will
be in the ranks of those who have lost (all the spritual good)." [Surah
5:5] <<< See the following two notes >>>
1-following the above passage further describes that a Muslim
man can marry a woman from their ranks on same terms as he would
marry a Muslim woman, i.e. he must give her an economic and moral
status, and must not actuate merely by motives of lust and physical
desires. A Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim primarily
because her religious affiliation and duties will be affected by the
authority of her husband. A non-Muslim woman marrying a Muslim
man is expected to eventually accept Islam.
Any man or woman, from any race or faith, upon ACCEPTING
Islam can freely marry any Muslim, man or woman, provided the
objective is purity and chasteness and not lewdness.

Marriage Between Shi'ites & Sunnis

Shia and Sunni are both Muslims and therefore from a purely
religious point of view there is absolutely no problem for them to be
married. The answer, however, might be totally different when it
comes to cultural or relationship point of view. For many it is difficult
enough to accept that their spouse has different opinion, let alone
having a fundamentally different understanding of religion. Problems
may arise when it comes to religious ceremonies and practices,
relationships with members of the different religious community,
raising kids, etc... The other difficulty is that not only do the two
persons need to be open-minded and be tolerant enough to accept
their differences; they also need to be brave and strong against
possible reactions from the members of the two communities who
may have extreme sectarian feelings and beliefs. Your parent's belief
that the marriage is void is only an example.
I have never understood the meaning of expressions like "is it
necessary for him/her to convert to ..." Either a person realises that a
belief is true and he/she naturally accepts it or a person does not
realise it and therefore does not accept it. There is no value in
accepting something that one is not firmly convinced of. If the lady
you are referring to is so casual about her faith that she is happy to
give it up for the sake of marriage then perhaps the whole issue of
two different beliefs is not as serious as it sounds. Note that even if
the girl converts to what you call 'Sunni' it does not clear up the
potential problem. She still has relatives and a community who she
cannot disassociate herself from and her conversion may bring even
more problems to both of you.
So to make it brief, from the Islamic perspective there is nothing
wrong with marriage between a Shia Muslim and a Sunni Muslim.
However, there are certain - often wrong - social and cultural issues
that should be carefully thought of and be prepared for, before such
marriages take place.
There are different sub-sects among these two main sects of
Muslims. However the major differences between typical Shia
Muslims and Mainstream Muslims are as follows:
• While mainstream Muslims believe that after the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) the door for any new divine guidance has
been closed for ever, Shia Muslims believe that divine guidance
continued after the Prophet by 12 divinely appointed Imams
who were infallible (like the Prophet) and had advantage of
accessing unseen knowledge where necessary.
• Shia Muslims believe that the position of Imamah is higher than
the position of Prophethood and therefore Imams have a higher
position than ordinary Prophets. They believe Prophet
Muhammad was himself an Imam so his position was higher, as
for prophets like Ibrahim, Musa and Isa (pbut), they have
differences of opinion but the prominent view is that their
position is lower than the position of Shia Imams.
 • Following from the above, while mainstream Muslims believe
that the appointment of Khalifa should be
by Shura (consultation) after the demise of the Prophet (pbuh),
Shia Muslims believe that Ali (ra) was the divinely appointed
Imam after the Prophet (pbuh) and that those who took his
place have intentionally suppressed him and Ahl Albayt of the
Prophet by not letting them have their right and that most of the
rest of the companions did not remain loyal to the directives of
the Prophet (pbuh) in that they did not support Ali (ra) to
become the first Khalifa.
• Following from the first point, Shia Muslims believe that the last
Imam was the Mahdi that was predicted by the Prophet (pbuh),
that he was born in 255 A.H and went into occultation later and
he is still alive and will return before the day of judgement to
bring justice on the face of Earth.
• Following from the first point, Shia Muslims do not rely
on Ahadith that reached us through the companions of the
Prophet (pbuh), instead they mostly rely on sayings of their
Imams (mostly the 6th Imam, Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq who is also
very much respected by the mainstream scholars) that have
reached them through the companions of Imams.
All the above leads to some differences in religious practices among
Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. While the main practices like
prayer, Zakah, fasting and Hajjare in principal the same, there is a
strong emphasis on Tawassul (seeking intercession) of Imams and
calling them, visiting Imam's shrines, loving them as a means to
salvation, grieving for Imams and reading prayers that are narrated
from their Imams.