Q
Is it permissible to marry a Yazidi woman?
Firstly:
The Yazidis are a deviant sect that began in 132 AH following the demise of
the Umayyad state. In the beginning, it was a political movement to restore
the glory of the Umayyads, but ignorance continued to prevail among them,
and their innovations and misguidance developed until they went beyond the
pale of Islam altogether.
The roots of this sect go back to the time after the battle of Karbala’,
during the reign of Yazid ibn Mu‘aawiyah and the martyrdom of al-Husayn ibn
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and many of Aal al-Bayt (may Allah be
pleased with them).
The Shi‘ah began to curse Yazid and accuse him of heresy and drinking
alcohol.
After the demise of the Umayyad state, the Yazidis began in the form of a
political movement. They loved Yazid and objected to the cursing of him in
particular, then they objected to cursing in general, to the extent that
they objected to the cursing of Iblees. They turned their attention to the
Book of Allah, and erased every mention in it of curses or devils or seeking
refuge, on the grounds that these words had not existed in the original
Qur’an, and that that was something that had been added to it by the
Muslims. Then they began to venerate Iblees who is cursed in the Qur’an.
Their beliefs:
-Their belief that Iblees is the peacock of the angels lead them to venerate
statues of peacocks made of copper in the form of a rooster the size of a
clenched fist. They take these statues around the villages to collect
money.
-In their declaration of faith they say: “I bear witness that One is Allah
and Sultan Yazid is the beloved of Allah.”
-Fasting: they fast three days of every year in December, which coincides
with the birthday of Yazid ibn Mu‘aawiyah.
-Alms are collected by means of the peacock and that is done by chanting and
given to the leaders of the sect.
-Pilgrimage: on the tenth day of Dhu’l-Hijjah, they stand on a mountain in
al-Marjah an-Nooraaniyyah in Lalish in Iraq.
-Prayer: they pray on the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, and claim that
it makes up for the prayers of an entire year.
-Resurrection and gathering after death: this will occur in the village of
Baatat on Mount Sinjar, where the balance will be set up in front of Shaykh
‘Adiyy ibn Musaafir, who will bring the people to account and he will take
his followers and admit them to Paradise.
They frequent graves and shrines like those of Shaykh ‘Adiyy, Shaykh Shams
ad-Deen, Shaykh Hasan and ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani. Each shrine has
servants who use oil and candles to light it.
They regard it as prohibited to marry between classes, and it is permissible
for a Yazidi to marry up to six wives.
They prohibit the colour blue because it is one of the most prominent
colours of the peacock.
They regard it as prohibited to eat lettuce, cabbage, squash, beans, and
turkey, as well as the flesh of the peacock which is regarded by them as
holy, because it is a reminder of Iblees, who is the angel peacock,
according to their views. They also prohibit chicken, fish, venison and
pork.
The Yazidi prays facing towards the sun when it rises and when it sets, then
he kisses the ground and rubs his face on it. There is also a supplication
that is recited before sleeping.
They have their own festivals, such as the Gregorian New Year, and the
festivals of Marba‘aaniyyah, Qurbaan and Jamaa‘ah, the festival of Yazid,
the festival of Khadr Ilyaas, and the festival of Balandah. They have a
night that they call the “black night”, when they extinguish all lights and
regard it as permissible during that night to do prohibited actions and
drink alcohol.
In
their book it says: “Obey and listen to my servants in what they tell you to
do and do not speak of that in front of strangers, such as the Jews and
Christians and people of Islam, because they do not understand what it is,
and do not give them any of your books lest they change them without you
realising.”
They respect the Christians, to the extent that they kiss the hands of
priests and share communion with them, and they believe that the wine is
truly the blood of Christ.
They took from the Christians the practice of baptism, whereby they take the
infant to a spring called ‘Ayn al-Bayda’ and immerse him in it. When the
child reaches the age of one week, they bring him to the shrine of Shaykh
‘Adiyy, where he is immersed in water and they shout his name out loud,
asking him to make the child a Yazidi and a believer (in the angel peacock),
i.e., Iblees.
When Islam entered the Kurdistan region, most of the inhabitants followed
the religion of Zoroastrianism; some of the teachings of this religion were
passed down to the Yazidis.
Their beliefs are mixed with Magian and idolatrous teachings, and they
raised Yazid to the level of divinity. In their view the hierarchy is: Allah
– Yazid – ‘Adiyy.
See: al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Muyassarah fi’l-Adyaan wa’l-Madhaahib wa’l-Ahzaab
al-Mu‘aasirah (1/371-376).
For more information on their beliefs and misguidance, see the following:
Al-Yazeediyyoona fi Haadirihim wa Maadeehim
by ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq al-Hasani
Al-Yazeediyyah: Ahwaaluhum wa Mu‘taqadaatuhum
by Dr Saami Sa‘eed al-Ahmad
Al-Yazeediyyah wa Asl ‘Aqeedatihim
by ‘Abbaas al-Ghazzaawi
Ma Hiya al-Yazeediyyah? Wa Man Hum al-Yazeediyyoon
by Mahmoud al-Jundi
From the above it is clear that the Yazidis are a deviant and misguided sect
who are beyond the pale of Islam. If this is a person’s religion, there is
no doubt that he is a disbeliever whose religion is contrary to the religion
of Islam that was brought by the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him).
Based on that, it is not permissible for a Muslim to marry a Yazidi woman,
just as it is not permissible to marry a mushrik (polytheist) or Magian
woman, and the like. No exception is made regarding disbelievers who are
outside the pale of Islam, with regard to marriage, except in the case of
the Jews and Christians, because they are originally People of the Book. As
for the Yazidis and others, they have no Book in the first place; rather
they are an apostate sect who combine all kinds of disbelief in one
religion. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
do not marry Al-Mushrikat (idolatresses, etc.) till they believe (worship
Allah Alone)” [al-Baqarah
2:221].
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni
(7/102):
With regard to all the disbelievers, apart from the People of the Book,
there is no dispute among the scholars concerning the prohibition on
marrying their women or eating meat slaughtered by them. With regard to an
apostate woman, it is prohibited to marry her no matter what religion she
follows. End quote.
See also the answers to questions no. 13808,
20884 and 132478
And Allah knows best.