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:

assalamualaikum. i have come 2 know from this website that a person may marry the 1 whom he loves i.e, love marriage is allowed in islam. But i have read in the quran that if a person gives a second glance to another person of the opposite sex then it is a sin. then how is love allowed in islam?is it not a sin too? kindly reply soon.khuda hafiz. 

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Answer:

Love is Sin

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 Statement: But i have read in the quran that if a person gives a second glance to another person of the opposite sex then it is a sin

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verses 30-31:

30 (O Prophet (saws)): Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

31 And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty;

Allah has commanded the believers, men and women, to lower their gaze and scrupulously guard their modesty; but if one were to accidentally look or glance at what is forbidden, the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided that such an accidental first look will not be taken into account by the Lord Most Merciful; but the subsequent looks would indeed be taken into account.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2144 Narrated by Buraydah ibn al-Hasib

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: to Ali: ‘Do not give a second look, Ali, (because) while you are not to blame for the first, you have no right to the second.’

Your Statement: i have come 2 know from this website that a person may marry the 1 whom he loves i.e, love marriage is allowed in islam.

Beloved Sister, a marriage is a sacred commitment between two people who vow to love, cherish, honor, and spend the rest of their lives with each other; and Islam definitely does not guide that one should marry someone whom one ‘hates’ or ‘dislikes’….but it is only natural and obvious and absolutely encouraged in Islam that one should marry whom one ‘likes’ and ‘loves’!

The Messenger of Allah (saws) permitted and encouraged the believing men who intended to marry a woman to see, meet and talk to her in the presence of her mehram; so that he may be encouraged to seek her hand in marriage.

What is absolutely impermissible and forbidden is that two non-mehram members of the opposite sex form an illicit relationship and meet and talk vain and casual talk in the guise of being ‘friends’! Such an association between two non-mehram members of the opposite sex is absolutely prohibited in Islam.

To like or love someone is a natural emotion, and there is absolutely no sin if one loves another person; it is what is done does after one has fallen in love with that person which would determine whether it would be counted as a virtue and a good deed in the Sight of Allah or a sin!

If one likes or loves someone, and informs one’s guardians that they love so and so, and requests them to sanctify their love in the sacred bond of marriage so that they may love each other for the rest of their lives, it would be counted as a virtue and a good deed in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

But if one falls in love, and strives to meet the person in secret and in private, and in their love transgress the boundaries of Allah Subhanah before they are united in the sacred bond of marriage; then indeed it would constitute a huge sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Thus falling in love with a member of the opposite sex is not a sin by itself; what one does after one has fallen in love determines whether it is a virtue or a sin in Islam.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan