I Have a Kid With a Non-Muslim Man. Can I Marry Him?
Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan
Question: Assalam alaykum,
I am a muslim woman but not practising and I am married to a non muslim man. We also have two wonderful children. He believes in Islam, he believed before we got married.
We both are learner in islam and we want to get married islamic. Is it possible?
Answer: Wa alaykum al-Salam
Thank you for writing to us, may Allah increase your desire to draw close to Him and that of your partner.
The first requirement is for your partner to formally embrace Islam. He does so by pronouncing the testimony of faith:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا رسول الله
Ashhadu alla ilaha illaLlah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammada ar-RasuluLlah
I bear testimony that there is no God but Allah and I bear testimony that Muhammad sallaLlahu alayhi wasallam is (the final) Messenger of Allah.
You may also explain to your partner that the pillars of faith are:
1. To believe in Allah alone, He has no partners.
2. To believe in the angels.
3. To believe in all divine scriptures. Note that Muslims believe that certain divine scriptures have been interpolated and distorted. The final revelation is the Holy Quran.
4. To believe, love and respect all Prophets of God, including Moses and Jesus.
5. To believe in good and bad predestination.
His formal acceptance of Islam would effectively remove all his wrong doings and he starts a new life with a clean slate. Regarding yourself, you have technically been living in disobedience and are required to repent to Allah. Allah loves you, a sign of His love for you is the desire He placed in your heart to rectify your current situation. His doors are always open and He loves it when His servants turn to Him in repentance. In addition, repentance has a sweetness that cannot be expressed in words.
Once your partner formally accepts Islam, you will have to remarry him following the procedue of an Islamic marriage contract. If you have access to a scholar locally, its best you contact him for this purpose; if you do not have access, please write to us again.
Please note, that prior to this marriage, you are considered a stranger to your partner and sexual interaction and relations would not be permissible.
May Allah bless you and him, grant you both a beautiful union. May He place much love, compassion and understanding between. May He bless your offspring and make you an exemplary family, Amin.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan
Shaykh Abdurragmaan received ijazah ’ammah from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.
