Title: A Further Exchange on 'Paper Marriage' Question/Comments: In most of the third world countries the governments are corrupt. Instead of protecting the life and honor of their citizens they themselves are the biggest threat to them. Don't you think this accounts for an exceptional situation? Islam, as I understand allows a Muslim to say even " kalma e ku fr " [1] if circumstances require, to save his life, and does not hold him accountable for this if of course uttered "only" to protect his life. A group of people arranges paper marriage only for financial stability. I admit they lie but they lie for there survival. Once they get the nationality they divorce their 'partner on paper' lawfully. I will wait for your reply. Answer: Indeed if a person is being persecuted and threatened by a ruler he may flee from his homeland to another place. Under such circumstances, he may even try to save his life by giving a false statement. These were actually the circumstances under which the Qur'an allowed the Muslims to apparently renounce Islam, if they have to (without really meaning to do so) for the purpose of saving their lives. Thus, we may say that if fleeing from persecution requires one to give a false statement, it may be hoped that he shall not be punished for such false statement, and God shall deal with him mercifully. But this allowance should not be construed as an allowance for paper marriage under all circumstances. Actually, even under dire circumstances, a person should first try to explore all the honest means available to him for achieving his objective. For instance, he may try to get a political asylum in that country etc. My observation actually tells me that it is normally not to save one's life or to avoid persecution at the hands of an unjust ruler, but to better one's financial condition that he tries to get a nationality of a developed country to settle there. Obviously, it is one thing to give a false statement to save oneself from persecution and quite another to give a false statement and defraud the government to better one's financial conditions. If paper marriage is allowed to better one's social, economic and civic condition, then why should stealing from the rich be condemned, especially if one steals only to the extent necessary to give him financial "stability"? Thus, in my opinion, paper marriage per se , is a case of fraud and therefore all those who hold their ethical and moral being to be of any importance should avoid it. Yet, there may be circumstances under which such a fraud may not be punished in the hereafter. 28 th July 1999 [1] i.e. to verbally renounce Islam.