Kafa'ah
Kafā'ah is a term used to describe a form of endogamy in the field of Islamic jurisprudence with regard to marriage in Islam, which in Arabic, literally means 'equality' or 'equivalence'. It is thus defined as the equivalence between a prospective husband and his prospective wife which should be adhered to. This compatibility is dependent on multiple factors that include religion, social status, morality, piety, wealth, lineage or custom.
Legal rulings
Islamic scholars hold differing opinions and arguments on the doctrine of kafa'ah based on the Quran and Hadith. What is consistently agreed upon by the four Sunni schools of law is the compatibility of religion. Muslim women can thus marry only Muslim men, but Muslim men are also permitted to marry Jewish or Christian women. In Shia Islam, there is no concept of kafa'ah on the basis of lineage.Hanafism
According to the traditional Hanafi school of thought, kafa'ah represents a special proportionality between a man and a woman in marriage.Malikism
The traditional Maliki position states that kafa'ah is the proportionality in religion for both husband and wife.Shafi'ism
According to the Shafi'i school of thought, kafa'ah concerns the factors of lineage, religiousness, profession, and being free of defects that permit annulling the marriage contract. It must not be misunderstood as a recommendation of whom to marry. Rather, it should be taken as a legal restriction to protect a woman's interest in her marriage. If a woman wishes to marry someone who is seemingly incompatible based these factors, there is nothing wrong in her doing so. Accordingly, an Arab woman should not marry a non-Arab man; similarly, a virtuous woman should not marry a corrupt man,. A daughter of someone with a higher profession should not marry a man of a lowly profession. The wealth of either parties is not a factor to be considered, as it is merely temporary and "those with self-respect and intelligence do not take pride in it."Hanbalism
Scholars of the Hanbali school of thought state that kafa'ah represents the similarities and proportionality based on five factors, namely, religion, lineage, independence, jobs and wealth.Objectives
The main goal of kafa'ah is to make a peaceful and lasting marriage. The argument is that a household built based on the common perceptions, equivalent views, and understandings would make a peaceful and happy marriage. However, if such a rationale is to be accepted, it raises the question as to why these restrictions only apply to a prospective wife and not the husband. An objective more congruous with the legal rulings would be to protect the interests of the prospective wife by ensuring that she is not in disgrace in her conjugal bond. This however, raises the question as to why it would be a disgrace for an Arab woman to marry a non-Arab man.The Hadhrami controversy
Social stratification between Sayyids and non-Sayyids
The controversies associated with the doctrine of kafa'ah were exemplified in a chain of events which occurred in Hadhramaut, Yemen, in 1905. People of the Ba 'Alawi sada, especially of Hadhrami descent, adhered to a stricter and more rigid system of social stratification based on the kafa'ah of descent. In particular, a Sayyid woman is prohibited from marrying a non-Sayyid man. This extreme position is absent in the canon of orthodox Shāfi'i scholarship, the school to which the Hadramis otherwise adhered. Controversy erupted when a number of marriages between Sayyid women and non-Sayyid men were publicly discovered, which thus became a subject of public condemnation and clamour because of their perceived unsuitability.Dissent by Rashid Rida and Ahmad Surkati
In response to the heated controversy, Islamic reformer Rashid Rida argued that such marriages were valid and permissible, in his journal al-Manār in Egypt. There was nothing in Islamic law, as he argued, that prohibited marriages between Sayyid women and non-Sayyid men. Rida's views were echoed by Ahmad Surkati, who wrote a pamphlet in 1915 titled Surah al-Jawāb in permitting such marriages based on the principle of equality. According to Surkati, kafa'ah should be restricted to the rationale of ensuring a good relationship between the partners; accordingly, if a woman decides to marry someone seemingly inferior, because "of other such qualities which please women", she is allowed to do so.The traditional Hadhrami interpretation of kafa'ah is not found in the canon of orthodox Islamic scholarship. The arguments promulgated by Rida and Surkati were defenses of traditional Islamic scholarship and rejections of Hadhrami societal attitudes determined by self-interest.