Q. 1 Is it permissible for a Muslim to marry a Hindu woman without her becoming a Muslim? What is the status of the children born into such a marriage?
Q. 2. Should a family offer obligatory prayers at home in congregation, how do they stand in rows?
V. Hussain, Jeddah
A.1. No, it is not permissible for a Muslim man to marry a Hindu woman, or the other way round. Marriage between Muslims and Hindus is not permissible, unless the Hindu party wishes to accept Islam and become a Muslim before the marriage contract is made. Marriage with Christian and Jewish women is permissible, though not recommended.
The difference is that Christianity and Judaism are Divine religions, which share with Islam the concept of God’s absolute oneness. Marriage establishes a family which is the unit of society, and for that unit to function well, there must be a common belief in God’s oneness uniting all its members.
That will not happen in a family where one party does not subscribe to one of the Divine religions.
If a Hindu marries a Muslim according to the law of any country, such a marriage is considered unlawful from the Islamic point of view.
However, the children are deemed to be Muslim, because in any mixed marriage, children follow the higher faith of their parents. Islam is considered the first on the scale, followed by Christianity then Judaism.
A.2. If a family including parents, sons and daughters offer a congregational prayer at home, then the imam should be the man who recites the Qur’an best.
This means that he could be a son while the father is in the congregation. The first row is for men, including boys, and the second row is for women, including girls. Should this take place when there is a large family gathering, then the same pattern followed in mosques is followed here, with men in the first rows, followed by boys, then women.
