Answer EITHER Question 1 OR Question 2. 1

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [5] (a) A contract is signed
2. [5] (a) A guardian brings the bride (wali)
3. [5] (a) She freely agrees in front of witnesses
4. [5] (a) The groom also freely agrees in front of witnesses
5. [5] (a) The contract may specify dowry and terms (such as in case of divorce)
6. [5] (a) An Imam may read the Qur'an
7. [5] (a) An Imam may say a prayer of blessing on the couple
8. [5] (a) Some have a main meal (walimah) on the same day; others the day after
9. [5] (a) Accept cultural traditions, such as clothing, dinner parties and foods such as Biryani.
10. [10] (b) There are a wide variety of different opinions about this, both within and between different schools of jurisprudence and different individual interpretations within Islam.
11. [10] (b) The Qur'an 5:5 states: '(Lawful unto you in marriage) are (not only) chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book. This has been taken to mean a Muslim may marry a Christian or Jewish woman, but not those of other faiths.'
12. [10] (b) Shaykh Yusuf Qaradawi, a modern Islamic scholar, interprets this to mean that marriage to Jewish and Christian women is allowed as they are a people of the book (ahl-e kitab).
13. [10] (b) Some reports of the life of Muhammad (pbuh) suggest that amongst his wives were Safiyya, a Jewish woman and Maria, an Egyptian Christian.
14. [10] (b) Caliph 'Umar asked some who had married Jewish and Christian women to divorce, fearing their families would drift away from Islam and into immoral ways. It could be debated what this meant – whether it was specific to those people or a general point about interfaith marriage.
15. [10] (b) The Qur'an 2:256 states: ‘There is no compulsion in religion.' It is a principle in Islamic law (shariah) that things are not considered haram unless they are specifically stated. There are many issues on which no teaching from the Qur'an or Hadith is directly available. These are generally considered allowed.
16. [10] (b) Another principle applied by scholars is precaution. The Shi'i scholar Al-Sistani rules that marriage is permitted but it should be a temporary marriage (muta). This is a specific category allowed by Shi'i scholars. As a precaution, he ruled that other believers in one deity, including Zoroastrians, should not be married, and Muslim women should only marry Muslim men.
17. [10] (b) Qur'an 2:221 states: ‘Do not marry unbelieving women (idolaters) until they believe; a slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman even though she allure you.' Some interpret 'polytheists' to mean all non-Muslims, disallowing marriage to Christians and Jews.
18. [10] (b) Some put conditions on marriage to a non-Muslim woman. She should not be amongst a group in conflict with the Muslims, according to the companion Ibn Abbas. She should have avoided unlawful sex before marriage. She has a guardian who agrees to give her in marriage; some say that guardian should be a Muslim.
19. [10] (b) Reformist Muslims such as Khaleel Mohammed and Amina Wadud accept interfaith marriages for both men and women, arguing that they are in accordance with the principles of human rights laid down by the Prophet.
20. [10] (c) Different societies may include those which are mostly Muslim and have local cultural traditions; and those in which Muslims live as minorities alongside those of other faiths. Examples from candidate's experiences may be credited.
21. [10] (c) Some might argue that free mixing is not part of Islamic cultural tradition, so marriages involving other faiths are unlikely to occur and should be discouraged.
22. [10] (c) From another perspective, some might fear losing Islamic traditions whilst living in a mostly non-Muslim environment, so promote marriage to someone committed to Islam to keep the purity of Islam and pass on a strong faith to children.
23. [10] (c) Others might argue that if someone falls in love with another then they should marry and indeed Islam encourages marriage. It would be much better for them to marry than risk immoral temptation outside marriage, from a traditional standpoint.
24. [10] (c) Interfaith marriage might be seen as an opportunity for teaching another about Islam and sharing faith, an act of teaching Islam (daw'ah).
25. [10] (c) A distinction might be made between societies where most people are people of the book, Christians and Jews, and other societies where many people follow non-monotheistic religions. Muslims might marry amongst the former.
26. [10] (c) Reformist Muslims suggest that nowadays the principles of Islam should be interpreted with compassion and a view to modern living and human rights. Some argue that interfaith marriages should now be accepted as natural within today's mixed societies and embraced.