Q. Could you please explain the procedure of marrying a non-Muslim woman, with regard to the witnesses, the conditions and any paperwork required for the marriage to be valid.
M. A. Hussain, Canada
A. The requirements for a marriage between a Muslim man and a woman who follows either Christianity or Judaism are the same as for any Islamic marriage. The woman does not have to change her religion, so as to convert to Islam, for such a marriage to be valid from the Islamic point of view. Marriage in Islam requires a commitment by the bride’s father or guardian and an acceptance by the bridegroom. This must be in the presence of a minimum of two witnesses. The witnesses are normally Muslims, and some scholars are of the view that non-Muslims cannot be witnesses in an Islamic transaction, because they consider being a witness to come under wilayah, which no non-Muslim may have over a Muslim. Wilayah is a word with a broad meaning that signifies patronage or guardianship. It is difficult to see how being a witness may be taken as a kind of wilayah. Therefore, many scholars differ with this view and accept a non-Muslim as a witness in a case against a Muslim.
By witnesses in a marriage contract we mean the people present at the time when the commitment and acceptance are made. They do not have to be official witnesses, putting their names to any document. Therefore, if the reader invites several friends to the marriage ceremony, whether it is made in a Registrar’s office, a mosque or at home, their presence is sufficient. The other requirements are the presence of the woman’s father or guardian and the agreement on a dowry to be paid by the husband to the wife.
Helping deceased people
Q. My father is dead. What can I do to help him. Can I say prayers for him or read the Qur’an? Do I give charity on his behalf or perform the Umrah or pilgrimage on his behalf? Can I read the Qur’an at his grave? People are giving all sorts of answers. Please answer because I have heard that after death only 3 things continue to benefit the dead: good children, beneficial knowledge and lasting charity.
A.M. Ladha
A. What the reader finishes with is absolutely correct. The Prophet says: "When a human being dies, all his actions come to an end except in one of three ways: a continuing act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge and a dutiful child who prays for him." This is how a person may increase his own reward after his death. If he arranges some act of charity which continues after his death, he would receive reward for that. Such an act may take the form of an endowment, or providing a facility for the poor that lasts for a long time after his death. Useful knowledge also has this continuing feature. Hence, the Prophet mentions it in the three ways. Dutiful children are also a means of earning reward after one’s death. It is the parent who brings up the child and impress on him the need to be good and dutiful. Hence, although the child is praying for the parent, the action is in a way a reward for the parent’s own action.
But other people could benefit their beloved ones who have already departed from this life in other ways. Generally speaking, any act of worship which could be done by proxy may be offered on behalf of the deceased. This is mainly true in the case of the pilgrimage and the Umrah. The Prophet was asked by one of his companions if she could offer the pilgrimage on behalf of her deceased father. He asked her: "Would you have paid his debt, had he left an unsettled debt?" When she answered in the affirmative, the Prophet said: "A debt owed to God has a greater claim for settlement."
The same applies to zakah and charitable donation. You may pay any zakah your father might have left unpaid. And you may pay any charity and ask God to credit the reward to your deceased father or mother. This would give them the reward and you will earn a reward from God for being both charitable and dutiful. You may also read the Qur’an on your parents’ behalf and pray to God to credit the reward for your recitation to your parents, or either of them.
Acts of worship that cannot be done by proxy may not be offered on behalf of a deceased person. According to most scholars, prayer and fasting cannot be done by proxy.
A table for inheritance shares
Q. I am attaching a six-page table with 84 different situations that make out all the possibilities for sharing the estate of a deceased person. Could you please mark out the shares in each case, so that a booklet may be produced outlining the shares of each heir in all situations. This is a most pressing problem of Muslim society now especially in countries with no Islamic government. People fight each other, cutting off the relationship for even many generations because of the problems of property division, or they go to court spending lots of money, referring the case to one court after another in a process that may take years. A simplified booklet detailing the shares in each case may save them all that. It will be appreciated if you could help.
Dr. Rafiq Anwar, Makkah
A. Islam has a system of inheritance which is simple and elaborate at the same time. No one need to go to any court disputing what he or she should receive, provided that the heirs are happy to implement God’s legislation and get only what He has apportioned to them. But people are always ready to quarrel, hoping to get more than they are entitled to have. In such a situation, no book of any size will stop them. The point is this: people do not lack the knowledge of what their shares are, but they want to put God’s law aside in favor of their own law. Hence the production of a booklet with a table will not help.
In any given situation, people could resort to a scholar who is well versed with the system to tell them the exact shares they may receive. The scholar will point out these shares in accordance with the relevant verses God has revealed in the Qur’an: (Surah 4, Verses 11, 12 and 176)
I am sorry I cannot help with the table provided, because it is short of many other situations that may be relevant. Such a table is practically a summary of the whole system, which is very difficult to do in the form the reader suggests. However, a booklet of the type the reader wants has been published by ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America. I heard that it is available on their website, but I have not checked that. It may be worth my reader’s while to visit their website and inquire.
