The Dean of the High Institute of the Judiciary at Imam Muhammed Bin Saud Islamic University has said that tribal or genealogical incompatibility in marriage has no foundation in Shariah Law and that the institute's curricula have taught aspiring judges this since its inception. Abdul Rahman Bin Salama Al-Muzayyini said that there is no such requirement made by Shariah or the Prophet, “who married, as did his Companions, both Arab women and non-Arab women”. “This subject has emerged recently and the press may have made more out of it than they should because of court rulings on the issue,” Al-Muzayyini said. “Such rulings have been made on the basis of ‘ijtihad' (personal interpretation) by the judge.” Al-Muzayyini was referring to the case of Fatima Al-Azazi and husband Mansour Al-Taimani, who were ordered to separate four years ago by a court in Al-Jouf after Fatima's brother alleged “tribal incompatibility”. The ruling was overturned at the end of last month by the Supreme Judicial Council and the couple, along with their children, were finally reunited last week when Fatima was released from Dammam's Social Protection Home on the orders of Prince Muhammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of the Eastern Province. According to Al-Muzayyini, the High Institute of the Judiciary, which judges in the Kingdom attend upon completion of university training in Islamic law, “does not impose on students any particular view”, and judges have “their own ijtihad interpretations”. “The programs taught cover this aspect, and in Islam there is only difference in religion, not in genealogy, and separating married couples for genealogical reasons is not found in Islam,” he said. “In the end, it's for the judge to make the ruling, based on his own ijtihad interpretation from Shariah bases.” “How can we separate a husband and wife without any text on which to base the decision?” Al-Muzayyini asked. “And a couple has been brought together in a Shariah contract containing all rules and conditions? I see no justification for breaking up a couple married in a Shariah contract, which has no flaws.” Al-Muzayyini said that the High Institute kept abreast of contemporary issues with comparative studies of new legal cases and research. He added that the High Institute may also discuss the marriage of minors in the near future, an issue that has received considerable public attention in recent years.
