.

DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM

MARRIAGE
Agustinho Barretto – II Year B.Th.
Marcelino D’costa – III Year B.Th.

Introduction
Marriage is a union of the two spouses. It is celebrated in all the cultures around the world. It is
accepted by the society as its fundamental institution. It is here the children are brought up into
loving and concerned citizens of the society. Marriage is there in every religion. However, there
are some differences in its practice. We shall highlight some differences and similarities between
Christian and Muslim marriage.

Similarities
Mangni which is also known as engagement in Muslim matrimony is similar to Christians
ceremony of engagement. During this ceremony, the groom and bride exchange rings. Both the
families also exchange gifts.

Manjha is the Muslim marriage equivalent of the haldi ceremony. It takes place two days before
the wedding. The bride and groom wear yellow clothing in their respective homes and get smeared
with a paste of turmeric and sandalwood in rosewater. Similar ceremony, known as Roce, we also
find among Christians.

In Muslim marriage, the Maulvi asks both, the bride and the groom to consent, and they have to
say “Qubool Hai” thrice to give their consent. The bride and groom have to say it thrice and they
are behind a hijab that separates them from each other during the process. This is similar to the
Christian “I do” and the bride, here too, is under a veil during the marriage ritual. They vow to be
together for life.

Nikah Nama is the official marriage contract among the Muslim where the duties of the groom
and the bride, as per the Quran, are recited in presence of two witnesses each from the bride’s and
groom’s families. The Christians too deem it important for the presence of two witnesses. After
the consent by each of the spouses, both of them sign the marriage register.

Differences
Salatul Ishtikara is a pre-wedding ritual in which the Imam performs a prayer to seek Allah’s
blessings for the marriage. This ritual is basically an official announcement of the marriage. In
Christianity, the official announcements are in the form of banns that are read after the Sunday’s
Eucharistic celebration.
Physiologically speaking, sexual needs arise with physical maturation. In Islam, sexual maturity
is a condition for marriage. In Islam, the age of nine is the age of maturity for girls and the age
of fifteen is when boys reach maturity. The Catholic Church gives the age of sixteen for boys and
fourteen for girls.

Polygamy is permissible in Islam under some conditions. A man can marry four women at the
same time as long as he can deal with them justly. Since marriage in Christianity means the union
of a man and woman to become one flesh, polygamy is prohibited. The Church views marriage
as an inseparable bond and prohibits divorce or polygamy.

In Christian view celibacy has the superior and greater position than marriage, while, Islam give
importance to marriage; in Islamic view, to God, celibacy is something unaccepted.

In Islamic law, divorce is the termination or dissolution of the contract of marriage between the
husband and wife. It is considered to be an abominable act and is regulated with stringent
conditions and procedures. The nature of marriage in Christianity is divine. It is created by God
so it cannot be dissolved.
In Christian the reasons for marriage legislation are "to Keep purity" and "salvation and
redemption"; and in Islam the reasons of marriage legislations are “to respond to the human nature
needs", “calm of the soul”, “The preservation of the human species" and "human development".

Conclusion
Marriage is something that involves two individuals. Whenever people get married both should
freely give their consent. They should be willing to do some sacrifice for the sake of the other. In
marriage it is important that people should have deep love and concern for the other so that the
marriage is successful. After all what is important is to live happily in life. The differences and
similarities do not make marriage great but it depends on the spouses.