Interfaith marriage in Islam

In traditionalist interpretations of Islam, the permissibility for Muslims to engage in interfaith marriages is outlined by the Quran: it is permissible, albeit discouraged, for a Muslim man to marry Non-Muslim women as long as they are identified as being part of the "People of the Book" (Christians, Jews, and Sabians), while it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a Non-Muslim man. Thus, traditional interpretations of Islamic law do recognize the legitimacy of a Muslim man's marriage (nikaah) if he marries a Non-Muslim woman, but only if she is Jewish, Christian, or Sabian.

On the other hand, according to the traditional understanding of interfaith marriage in Islam, Muslim women are forbidden from intermarrying with Non-Muslim men based on the interpretations of different Muslim scholars regarding the Islamic law. Additionally, it is required in Islam that the children of an interfaith marriage be Muslim.

The tradition of reformist and progressive Islam, on the other hand, permits marriages between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men; Islamic scholars opining this view include Pakistani-American Muslim feminist Shehnaz Haqqani, Guyanese-American professor Khaleel Mohammed, American activist Daayiee Abdullah, and Sudanese politician Hassan al-Turabi, among others.

In some societies outside the traditional dar al-islam, interfaith marriages between Muslims and Non-Muslims are not uncommon, including marriages that, in Sunni Islam, contradict the historic understanding of ijmāʿ (the consensus of fuqāha) as to the bounds of legitimacy.