Aslam

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,

20884 and 132478

And Allah knows best.