Al-Baqarah 2:221
The verse
Wed not idolatresses till they believe; for lo! a believing bondwoman is better than an idolatress though she please you; and give not your daughters in marriage to idolaters till they believe, for lo! a believing slave is better than an idolater though he please you. These invite unto the Fire, and Allah inviteth unto the Garden, and unto forgiveness by His grace, and expoundeth His revelations to mankind that haply they may remember. — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
In this verse, the Qur’ān forbids Muslim men and women from marrying “unbelievers”:
“Wed not with idolatrous women…And wed not to idolatrous men….” Because the Qur’ān accuses the Christians of being unbelievers (idolaters), marriage is prohibited between Muslims and Christians (Q 5.72-73, Q 9.31). Nonetheless, the Qur’ān allows Muslim men—only—to marry Jewish and Christian women (Q 5.5). Muslim women are not mentioned in Q 5.5, so they must abide by the prohibition of Q 2.221 to not marry a Jew or a Christian.
Since Q 5.5 does not abrogate Q 2.221, the contradiction still stands between these two opinions in the Qur’ān. Question: Are Christians really mushrikūn (unbelieving idolaters) or not? Is it permissible to have them as in-laws?
Arabic text of this item
يمنع القرآنُ المسلمين والمسلمات من الزواج من «الْمُشْرِكَاتِ والْمُشِرِكِينَ» (البقرة 2: 221)؛ وهذا يعني حظر الزواج بين المسلمين والمسيحيين، لأن القرآنّ يوجه تهمة الشرك للمسيحيين (المائدة 5: 72 - 73؛ التوبة 9: 31). ومع ذلك، يسمح القرآن للرجال المسلمين فحسب بالزواج من النّساء المسيحيات واليهوديات (المائدة 4: 5).
فهل المسيحيون مشركون أم لا؟ وهل يجوز مصاهرتهم؟
بما أنَّ (المائدة 5: 5) لم تنسخ (البقرة 2: 221) فإن التناقض يبقى قائماً بين الرأييْن في القرآن.
Sources cited
Sources added in review (the original item cited none)
- al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, on Q 2:221 · link checked 2026-10-12