Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamualaiakum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu :)

hope u recieve this mail in best of ur health iman and taqwa. ameen :)

I like the way u ppl answer questions..u r doing a good job..Masha Allah :)

hmm i would like to ask a few questions too..

can i leave my country/city to get islamic knowledge without a non mahram? my parents and bros cant go with me.. so pls tell me wat to do.

my other question is wat if a girls family is not practicing and they want her to ger married to sumbody who's not religious at all.. in Quran it says pure men should marry pure woman and impure women should marry impure women (surah nisa), so can a girl choose her own husband whos religious and pious?

Jazakallahu Khair :)

wa alaikum as salaam warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Are women allowed to choose their husbands for marriage?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your question: can i leave my country/city to get islamic knowledge without a non mahram? my parents and bros cant go with me.. so pls tell me wat to do.

It is incumbent upon every believer to gain Islamic knowledge wherever he/she can. There would be two issues if a believing woman intends to travel for knowledge. One is the travel itself, and the other is her stay in a foreign country. If you are going to a foreign city to seek Islamic knowledge, and have some mehram relatives in that city; or you are going to a full girls University where you will be safe and protected, there is no harm.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.194 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day, to travel for one day and night, except with a Mahram."

It is not permissible for a believing woman to travel the distance of a day and a night, except with a Mehram. If you cannot find a mehram to travel with you, in such a case if your travel can be arranged that a mehram drops you at the airport and another receives you at the destination, provided your flight is not more than 24 hours; there would be no harm in such a travel.

Your question: my other question is wat if a girls family is not practicing and they want her to ger married to sumbody who's not religious at all.. in Quran it says pure men should marry pure woman and impure women should marry impure women (surah nisa), so can a girl choose her own husband whos religious and pious?

Islam has guided that the prospective girl and her parents consult each other when making a decision regarding her marriage. The parents are not given the right by Allah Subhanah to marry their daughter to anyone they wish without her consent. If they do so, the girl is well within her rights to reject such a marriage, especially in the case where the parents want to marry the girl to an unrighteous person. In such a case, the girl must exercise her right of refusal and seek to marry a righteous, God-fearing person.

Similarly, if a girl likes some righteous man and wishes to marry him, she must consult her parents and seek their approval and consent. If the man is indeed righteous and God-fearing, the parents should not refuse such a proposal.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3090 Narrated by AbuHurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, 'When someone, with whose religion and character you are satisfied, asks your daughter in marriage, accede to his request. If you do not do so, there will be temptation on Earth and extensive corruption.'

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan