Reforming Pedigree Marriage

Reforming Pedigree Marriages in Islam - A. al-Ansari

Marriage advertisements of the �Hyderabad� variety are becoming increasingly unpopular among Muslims in search of pious spouses who are not of Arab or Indo-Pakistani descent. These types of marriages are often arranged by a guardian (wali) with an eye on the prospective mates lineage, socio-economic class, academic and professional associations � and European or �white� physical features. While supporters of pedigree marriages argue it�s permissibility under the principle of social equality (kufu�) in regard to marriage in Islamic law, the practice rebuffs the Qur�ans recommendation to Believers with a similar spiritual outlook in favor of sole material considerations.

Before I proceed, I wish to make clear my lack of qualification to issue legal rulings (fatawa) on marriage or any other matter of fiqh. I readily admit that I manifestly lack competence in the law and would likely err in proportion to the degree of my unfamiliarity with Islamic law. This paper is not a challenge to the established authority of the Sunni legal schools (maddhabs), which I hold in the highest regard. However, the purpose of this writing is to articulate a view of the Sharia that favors a gradual approach to social reform, especially where pedigree marriage is concerned. Pedigree marriages in Islam�s diverse religio-cultural context undermine the Sharia�s legal prerogatives� to develop an impartial and balanced Muslim society.

Pedigree marriages defy Quranic imperative on marriage. In theory, pedigree marriages are prohibited in Islam. The women forced into such arrangements are supposed to have the right of refusal (Q 4:19). Thus, the Qur�an as the primary source of Islamic law and public policy supports the moral autonomy of the individual. One of the objectives (maqasid) of Sharia is the actualization of harmony between private and public interests. Forced marriages are human rights violations against women.

It can be argued that the Prophet (SAW) had an egalitarian social objective in his approach to marriage policy. There were cases where the Prophet (SAW) could have ordered marriage on his followers where social incompatibility was an issue, but he refrained owing to the fact that divine law is rooted in the Qur�an. For example, in an authentic hadith reported by Muslim, the Prophet advised Fatima bint Qais Qurashiyah to marry Usama, who was the son of a former slave. Accordingly, the scholars interpreted the Prophets role as mediator to mean that � though the Sharia makes allowances for social equality (kufu) in marriage � such considerations should not factor substantially in marriage contracts. Furthermore, because Fatima bint Qais Qurashiyah was asked to marry Usama, it meant that lineage or any of its collateral meanings enjoyed no special benefit in Islam.

Scholars affirm that on family law matters, there exists no need for speculative legal reasoning (ijtihad) due to the Prophet himself providing conclusive rulings on social issues when they arose. Therefore, Quranic rulings were initially rational and utilitarian.
Islam is not exclusive. Indeed only man or woman, of any race or socioeconomic class, upon accepting Islam, freely marry any Muslim man or woman provided it be from pious motives instead of prurience:

�Do not marry unbelieving women until they believe: A slave woman is better than an unbelieving woman. Even though she allure you Nor marry your girls to unbelievers until they believe. Even though he allure you��� [Q2:221]


Pedigree marriages contradict the Sunnah of the Prophet, who repeatedly warned his Companions of the dangers of tribalism and sectarianism. More importantly, Allah (subhana wa; ta�la) cautions against �those who split up their religion and become sects � each party rejoicing in that which is with itself.� [Q30:32]

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a forward thinking cultural and political reformer who took steps toward implementing social policies designed to unify a growing Muslim community and social change to eliminate caste systems upheld on tribal or narrower grounds.

The supporters of pedigree marriages assert that such agreements make social life easy. They also argue that lack of due care in the construction of marriage contracts leads to higher divorce rates, social and economic disequilibrium and cultural extinction. Obviously, the ulema has not condemned pedigree marriages as objectively wrong and therefore, hold that it cannot be prohibited unless all Sunni legal schools (madhabs) agree that it is the case. However, Muslims, especially those in the West are warned of the need to take a moderate approach toward social and political realities in the United States and Europe while maintaining their religious identity.

The Hanafi Maddhab reasons that the Qur�an [4:6] endows the adult female with full authority to manage her own financial affairs. This position extends by way of analogy (qiyas) to marriage. Abu Hanifa�s legal opinion was also distinguished by his emphasis on personal liberty and his reluctance to impose unwarranted restrictions on it. Hence, the Imam maintained that neither the community nor the government is entitled to interfere with the personal liberty of the individual as long as the individual has not violated the law. Surprisingly, Abu Hanifa advocated social equality in marriage and empowered the woman�s guardian (wali) to seek annulment of a marriage where a wide discrepancy in the socio-economic status of the spouse existed. Today, Muslims should be cognizant that ethnocentrism is very divisive, given the diverse nature of Muslim communities in the West. Although pedigree marriages promote ethnic and tribal cohesion and serve as an impediment to cultural assimilation into a pluralist society, the practice weakens Islam�s verity which maintains that �physical traits, cultural traditions, dress, food, customs and habits are subsidiary to their main doctrinal identity, that Allah created differences in people in order to facilitate recognition, that the true identity is determined by the manner in which a person or group of any race, color or physical type approaches the business of livening uses his faculties, selects and means for his worldly endeavors.�

�And those whom knowledge has been bestowed may learn that (the Qur�an) is the truth from thy Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly open to it: for verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe to the straight way.� [Q22:54]

US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandies opined �in a democracy every citizen has a right to teach the truth as grounded in the capacity to think, reason and believe.� As Americans, we must assert our right to convey the truth about Islam. As Muslims, we must believe that truth is contingent on accepting the words of the Qur�an as factual and unimpeachable. Most Americans know little about Islam and the Sharia. Unfortunately, many are led to believe the Sharia to be a repressive legal code based solely on 7th century Arabian precepts which has not responded positively to world change. The truth about Sharia is that it responds positively to the prospect of legislation on logical and pragmatic grounds to accommodate social change. Pedigree marriages conform to some of the most notorious stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.
It is not the case that social dissimilarities between Muslim spouses portend marital discord, nor is it the case that racially or ethnically mixed Muslim spouses would affect certain death to any particular cultural or language group. Therefore, those obsess over finding an �Hyderabadi� counterpart are not in danger of extinction or object poverty for marrying Believers who do not originate on the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent or Europe. Sadly, such attitudes are manifest actions of colonialisms harmful legacy of ethnic nationalism.

Pedigree marriages foster division in Muslim communities (ummat) based on class, ethnicity and race. The extent of religio-cultural problems caused by these marriages is profoundly detrimental to the public interest (istislah) of Muslim American communities. There exists no racial, ethnic or linguistic prohibitions on marriage in any of the sevently legal verses in the Qur�an (ayat al ahkam) devoted to family law. Muslims should be aware that Islam, as a distinct religio-cultural entity encourages unity and can function as a positive agent for Muslim participation in American society. Modern Muslim activists are aware of the dilemma of increasing religious identity for Muslims because ethnicity itself is an un Islamic concept. Muslims should reform the practice pedigree marriages, so that considerations in the marriage contract yields to Shariat rules on matrimony instead of ethnic or racial motives. In fact, these marriages � as opposed to the practice of kufu� � has been neither established nor authenticated by the Qur�an or Sunnah, nor is it derived from it.

Finally, Islam is meant to be the agent of utility and blessing for humankind. Muslims are thus reminded that �the Believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil; they observe regular prayer, practice regular charity and obey Allah and His Messenger, on them will Allah pour his mercy: For Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.� [Q9:71]