Ordered Relationships. The Regulation of Jewish-Christian Marriages and Children in Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya’s Legal Works

Abstract

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) was a well-known theologian and jurist who lived in Mamluk Damascus. He wrote on a variety of topics and his writing has retained, or acquired, relevance for many Muslim readers today. Amongst his works is a legal compendium dedicated to Jews and Christians living under Islamic rule, entitled Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma. Although most of the rulings in Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma focus on relations between non-Muslims and Muslims, or Muslim society, Ibn al-Qayyim also discusses the question of Christian-Jewish marriage and the identity of a child born to a Christian-Jewish couple. This article analyses his teaching on both questions and relates it to the wider intellectual and historical-social context. It argues that Ibn al-Qayyim uses the question of inter-religious marriage and children’s religious identity to develop ideas about the relationship between Judaism, Christianity and Islam and to link these to the political status of Jews and Christians in his own historical and social context.

Keywords

• Ibn al-Qayyim
• Jewish-Christian marriage
• Ḥanbalī school
• Geniza
• non-Muslim children
• Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma