Question:
May Allah bless you. A listener from Sudan, identified by the initials Z. Y., a Sudanese national residing in Iraq, asks: “Is it permissible for me to marry off my daughter to a Muslim man who commits some major sins, such as drinking alcohol and committing adultery?”
Answer:
I seek refuge in Allah. It is not permissible for you to marry your daughter to a man who commits adultery until his repentance is evident and his conduct becomes upright. This is based on the Words of Allah Almighty: “The adulterer-fornicator marries not but an adulteress-fornicatress or a Mushrikah, and the adulteress-fornicatress none marries her except an adulterer-fornicator or a Mushrik [and that means that the man who agrees to marry (have a sexual relation with) a Mushrikah (female polytheist, pagan or idolatress) or a prostitute, then surely he is either an adulterer-fornicator, or a Mushrik (polytheist, pagan or idolater). And the woman who agrees to marry (have a sexual relation with) a Mushrik (polytheist, pagan or idolater) or an adulterer-fornicator, then she is either a prostitute or a Mushrikah (female polytheist, pagan, or idolatress)]. Such a thing is forbidden to the believers (of Islâmic Monotheism).” (An-Nur: 3)
The meaning of this noble verse is that it is forbidden for believers to marry off [their women] to a fornicator or to marry a fornicatress. If they do so, they are either fornicators or polytheists. The reasoning for this is:
- If a man marries a fornicatress while disbelieving that it is forbidden, he becomes a polytheist because he has made permissible what Allah has forbidden.
- If he believes it is forbidden but fails to control himself and disobeyed Allah by doing it, he is considered a fornicator because the marriage contract is invalid.
This is the clear and apparent meaning of the verse, requiring no over-analysis or interpretation.
However, if the suitor is chaste (refrains from adultery) but drinks alcohol, we do not advise marrying her to him. This is based on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “If someone comes to you whose religion and character you are pleased with, then marry [your daughter] to him.” Because the religion (religious commitment) of one who drinks alcohol is not satisfactory; this is because the drinker is a fasiq (sinner/transgressor) until he repents from drinking alcohol and quits. However, if you were to marry her to him, the marriage contract would be valid, unlike marrying her to an adulterer whose repentance has not been established.