Is it permissible to marry a Yazidi woman?

Praise be to Allah.

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 and  20884

And Allah knows best.