The unanimity of Muslim scholars agrees that a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a non- Muslim including those who follow Bahai’ism as it is creed concocted with elements from Buddhism and other religions.

Marriage between a Muslim and a Bahaib

Baha’ism [1] is a creed concocted with elements from Buddhism, Brahmanism, pagan beliefs, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as some esoteric beliefs.

The Issue

A man who follows Bahai’ism proposes to marry a virtuous Muslim woman. What should be the answer? On the other hand, can a Muslim man propose to marry a Bahai woman? Is she a Muslim, or a follower of a divine religion? Or is she an unbeliever who are unlawful for Muslims to marry. 

Ruling

Muslims are unanimous that a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim. It is also universally agreed that Bahais are unbelievers. As such, they may not marry Muslim women. Many scholars and authorities have outlined their ruling on this question. The basis of the prohibition of marriage with an unbeliever woman 

What scholars say: 
1. Shaikh Jad al-Haq Ali Jad al-Haq, former Rector of al-Azhar, issued a fatwa on 1 Safar 1401 AH, 9 December 1980, which said: ‘All Muslims agree that the Bahai’ or Babi faith is not an Islamic one. Anyone who believes in this religion is not a Muslim. As such, he is an apostate, i.e. someone who abandoned Islam to adopt another faith.

 Islamic scholars agree that apostasy incurs the death penalty if the apostate persists,

Likewise, scholars are in agreement that if an apostate gets married his marriage is invalid, whether he marries a Muslim or a non-Muslim woman, because he is unfit to be married and he is under a sentence of death if he persists and does not renounce the new religion he has adopted.’

Bearing all this in mind, the case presented is that of a man who converted to the Bahai religion, which means that he is an apostate who renounced the Islamic faith. As the lady putting this case is a Muslim, she cannot marry him. If a marriage contract is made between them it is invalid, and their marital relations become adultery, which is forbidden in Islam

2. Shaikh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baz ruled that the Baha’is are unbelievers. A question was put to him about those who believed in the man called Baha’ullah who claimed to be a prophet and a manifestion of God: can their dead be buried in Muslim graveyards. In his answer, Shaikh Ibn Baz said: 
If the Baha’i faith is as you have described, then there is no doubt that the Baha’is are unbelievers and they may not be buried in Muslim graveyards. Anyone who claims prophethood after Prophet Muhammad is a liar and unbeliever according to Islamic religious texts and to the unanimity of Muslims. His claim is contrary to what God has stated: 

 It is also contrary to a large number of hadiths making clear that Muhammad was God’s last messenger and that no prophet would ever be sent after him. The same applies to anyone who alleges that he or any creature is a manifestation of God. A person who makes such an allegation is an unbeliever according to the unanimous agreement of all Muslims, because God does not come to any one of His creatures. He is far too superior to do that. A claim of this sort is in clear contradiction with the various verses and hadiths which make clear that God is above the Throne and that He is above all His creation. Nothing bears any similarity or comparability to Him. He has informed His servants about Himself,

 He informs us about Himself:

 Their claim contradicts many other Qur’anic verses that make clear that God is above all His creation and above His throne. He is established on the throne in a way that is suited for His majesty and almightiness and unlike how they are established. None other than Him knows how He is established on the throne, nor His own nature. What I have explained is the belief of Sunni Muslims preached by all God’s messengers and His final messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is the belief of the four rightly-guided Caliphs, all the Prophet’s companions and their true successors, generation after generation up to the present.

I would like to add that I have not read any Baha’i book until now, but I have learnt from numerous sources that Baha’ism is a deviant creed and it is alien to Islam. However, after writing this answer to the question that has been put to me, I read a debate between a Sunni Muslim and a Baha’i published over four issues of a magazine published in Cairo called Al-Hady al-Nabawi. I read three of these four issues, two of which were published in Ramadan and Dhul-Qaadah 1368 AH (1949) and the other in Rabie II 1369 AH (1950). In this debate, the Baha’i respondent said very clearly that Baha’ullah, their prophet, alleged that he was a messenger of God who amended all previous divine laws and messages, making them easier to follow. He also said that every age needs a messenger of God. He denied the angels, claiming that in fact they were only the spirits of good believers. His statements indicate that he does not believe in the physical resurrection of mankind, and he denies what the Prophet has said about the Impostor. Undoubtedly their leader’s claim of being a messenger of God and that every age needs a messenger is clear disbelief. 

3. Other contemporary scholars have ruled such a marriage to be forbidden. One of them says: A marriage between a Muslim man and a Baha’i woman is invalid. Needless to say, a marriage between a Muslim woman and a Baha’i man is even more so. Islam does not permit a marriage between a Muslim woman and a follower of earlier divine religions. The prohibition applies even more strongly to a man who does not believe in a divine book. It is not permissible for a marriage to be effected between a Muslim, man or woman, and a Baha’i. The marriage cannot be initiated and cannot continue if either marriage partner converts to Baha’ism. It is an invalid marriage and it must inevitably be dissolved. This has been upheld by the courts in Egypt on more than one occasion. Justice Ali Mansoor ruled on a case of this sort, ordering the dissolution of the marriage on the basis of absolutely clear religious evidence. His ruling was published in a separate pamphlet. May God give him rich reward for what he did. 

Decisions of Fiqh Councils:

1. The Islamic Fiqh Academy approved in its fourth conference held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 18–23 Jumada II 1408 AH, 6–11 February 1988, a decision that says: - Having reviewed the decision of the fifth summit which required the Islamic Fiqh Council to publish its views on the creeds that are contrary to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah; 

- Taking into account the dangers that Baha’ism represents for Muslims worldwide and the support it receives from various quarters that are hostile to Islam;
- Having looked in depth into the beliefs of this sect and confirmed that its founder, Baha’ullah claimed to be a prophet, and his writings were revelations from on high. He also called on all mankind to believe in his message, denied that Prophet Muhammad was the last of God’s messengers, claimed that his books abrogated the Qur’an, and believed in reincarnation; 
- Having considered the numerous changes Baha’ullah introduced into the details of Fiqh and dropped others: he changed of the number of obligatory prayers and their times, making them nine prayers offered in three lots, three early in the morning, three at midday and three before sunset; changed the dry ablution, i.e. tayammum, so as to make it merely a verbal sentence, ‘In the name of God the most pure, the most pure’; reduced fasting to 19 days that end on the nayrooz, which falls on 21 March; changed the direction of prayer so as to face Baha’ullah’s home in Acre, occupied Palestine; forbade jihad; dropped mandatory punishment; changed the inheritance system so as to give men and women equal shares; and made usury lawful; and
- Having reviewed the presented papers on ‘areas of Islamic unity’ which included warnings against suspicious movements that seek to divide the Muslim community, undermine its unity and lead to apostasy and renunciation of Islam; the Council decides that: 
What Baha’ullah has claimed of being a messenger of God receiving revelations from on high, and the abrogation of the Qur’an, and the changes he introduced into religious details that are confirmed aspects of Islam, represent a denial of matters that are essentially known to be part of the faith. Whoever denies such matters is an unbeliever according to the universal agreement of the Muslim community.

2. The European Council for Fatwa and Research 

The Council considers it permissible that a Muslim man marries a follower of an earlier divine religion, but makes clear that Baha’ism is totally unacceptable as a creed. In its statement concluding its fourteenth session, the Council said: ‘Not every girl brought up in a Christian environment is necessarily Christian. She may be a Communist and materialist, or she may belong to a sect that Islam does not recognize, such as Baha’ism.

3. The Fiqh Council in Makkah 

In its fourth session, the Islamic Fiqh Council in Makkah unanimously adopted a decision in which it stated: ‘First, all scholars are in agreement that a marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim is strictly forbidden, as this is the clear import of religious texts.

 Repetition in the verse is clearly noted: “They (i.e. the believing women) are no longer lawful [as wives] for the unbelievers, and these are no longer lawful to them.” This repetition stresses the prohibition very emphatically, so as to totally sever a relationship between a believing woman and an unbeliever. This clear prohibition is followed by the divine order “Nonetheless, hand back to the unbelievers the dowries they have paid them.” Thus the unbeliever husband is refunded what he paid for his marriage when his wife has embraced Islam so as not to combine the loss of his marital relation with a financial loss. This verse makes clear that when an unbelieving woman becomes a Muslim, she is no longer lawful to her unbelieving husband and their marriage is automatically dissolved. how can anyone imagine that a marriage between a Muslim woman and an unbeliever can be initiated? Indeed, God has made clear that when an unbelieving woman, married to an unbeliever, embraces Islam she may marry a Muslim man after her waiting period is over.

Secondly, it is not lawful for a Muslim man to marry an unbeliever

When this verse was revealed,'Umar divorced his two wives who were unbelievers.

Ibn Qudamah said: ‘As for all unbelievers other than the followers of divine religions, such as those who worship statues, stones, trees, animals and the like, it is unanimously agreed by all scholars that their women are forbidden for Muslims to marry and their slaughtered animals forbidden to eat.[2]

Fatwas forbidding marrying Baha’i women

Furthermore, numerous fatwas have been issued by Muslim scholars declaring that the Baha’is are unbelievers, having nothing to do with Islam, and that one must be cautious in dealing with them. Shaikh Saleem al-Bishri, the former Rector of al-Azhar issued a fatwa in 1910, stating that all Baha’is are unbelievers. 

On 30 June 1946, an Egyptian religious court dissolved the marriage of a woman because her husband converted to Baha’ism, considering him as an apostate who renounced Islam. 

In 1947, the Fatwa Committee of al-Azhar issued a fatwa making clear that the Baha’is are apostates. This fatwa confirmed an earlier one, issued in 1939, by the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta declaring a Baha’i as an apostate. Another fatwa by the same Dar al-Ifta in Egypt was issued in 1968, stating: ‘Whoever converts to the Baha’i religion is an apostate, renouncing Islam. Such a person must be called upon to repent. He is given a thorough explanation of Islam and his doubts, if any, are discussed and removed. If he repents, all well and good, if not, he incurs the death penalty.[3]

In 2003, the Institute of Islamic Research at al-Azhar issued a fatwa saying: ‘The Baha’i creed and similar ones are like dangerous intellectual epidemics. The state must mobilize its resources to combat and defeat them.

Sources 

· Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah, Nos. 26 and 67.
   · Islam Question and Answer: www.islamQA.info. 
   · Home page for IslamWeb.net website: www.islamweb.net.    
   · The website of the European Council for Fatwa and Research: www.e-cfr.org. 
   · Fatawa by the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta.
   · Fatwa by Shaikh Jad al-Haq, former Rector of al-Azhar, issued 8 December 1981.
   · Decisions by the Islamic Fiqh Council, Makkah.
   · Decisions by the Islamic Fiqh Academy.