Question Summary:
is a nikah between a ithna ashari (jafri shia) women and a sunni man valid?

Question Detail:

is a nikah between a ithna ashari (jafri shia) women and a sunni man valid/ recognised and if any children born from that marriage are they halaal children. If so, please provide referances as i have heard that they (ithna ashari)  are ahle kitab and therefore such marriages are valid however how are they ahle kitab when they believe that the quran has 40 chapters as opposed to 30.

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
There are many sects of Shiism and each sect has a different set of beliefs, therefore not all Shias can be classified as non-believers.  If the Shia does not believe in completeness of the Qur’an, chastity of Aisha (Radhiyallahu Anha), Imaan of the Sahaba (Radhiyallahu Anhum), etc., then he is out of the fold of Islam and is a disbeliever.  The Ithna Ashariya sect holds these views, as a result they will not be considered to be Muslims.  Nikah between such Shias and a Muslim is not valid, regardless if the Shia is a male or female.    It is incorrect to believe that Shias are from the Ahle Kitab.  Ahle Kitab are those who believed in a former book that was reviled to a prophet before Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) namely the Christians and the Jews.
Therefore the nikah is not valid and the children born from such marriage their lineage will not be connected with their fathers.
Fatawa Uthmani (1:108)
Ahsan al-Fatawa (1:75)
Khair al-Fatawa (1:389)
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Ehzaz Ajmeri,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah