Muslim woman convert married to Christian man wants to marry Muslim man
I am a new muslim convert who is married to a Christian man. I left the home 2 months ago and want to know if after the 3 months waiting period, if my Christian husband does not accept Islam am I divorced and free to remarry in Islam? I am not divorced yet but intend to after the waiting period. I have found a muslim man that I want to marry and wants to marry me but I dont know if I have to wait until my divorce is final. Please help me understand what I need to do.
-mary.mourad
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Salaam alaikum,
Congratulations sister - may Allah bless you for accepting the religion of truth, :).
Here is a fatwa that should clear the issue for you. To put it short - after your iddah is over, you are a free woman and can marry who you want (As long as he is Muslim ofcourse).
Q: If a lady reverts to Islam and is married to a non-Muslim man, must she divorce this man? If he refuses to become a Muslim, can she continue to live with him?
A: All praise be to Allah the Almighty.
If a woman becomes a Muslima and her husband is a kaafir, then it becomes mandatory for her to separate from him and it is not permissible for her to remain with him in his state of shirk (disbelief), as per Allah's injunction (interpretation of the meaning):
"… do not send them back to the disbelievers—they are not lawful (wives) for the disbelievers nor are the disbelievers lawful (husbands) for them…" (Al-Mumtahinah 60:10).
It is her duty to invite him to Islam and to attempt to convince him via various approaches in the hope that Allah may accept her efforts and give her the great reward for his guidance through her. The prophet (peace be upon him) once told Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when he sent him to a people who were idol-worshippers:
"Invite them to Islam and inform them what is required of them, for (I swear) by Allah, that Allah guides a man through you is better than if you had humr un-na'am (a particular kind of camel which is the most sought-after wealth among the Arabs)" (Al-Bukhari, Fath il-Baari 3009).
As for the course of the marriage, and what she should do if her husband accepts Islam or doesn't, Ibn ul-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: What is indicated by evidence of his (i.e., the prophet's) ruling is that the marriage is mawqoof, or in abeyance (i.e. suspension); if her husband accepts Islam before the elapsing of her 'iddah (waiting period), then she remains his wife. If her 'iddah elapses then she has the right to marry whom she pleases or if she likes she may wait (in the hope he may still accept Islam). If he then accepts Islam, she becomes his wife without need of renewing the marriage. (Zaad ul-Ma'aad, Vol 5 p.138).
wallahu a'lam. (And Allah the Most Knowledgeable knows what is the most true and correct)
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Sister Faith
I would like to clarify more about this query, if I for example wanted to convert to Islam but I am married to a Christian man, but in our country there is no divorce, what will happen to our marriage? What will be the marriage status after I became a Muslimah and my Christian husband refused to convert to Islam?
I really hope you'll find time to answer this because I am really confused!
Thank you.
Salaam,
Sister what do you mean by "in our country there is no divorce" ? I don't understand, what country has marriage but no divorce? :-S
If you were to revert to Islam inshallah, and I pray Allah guides you to do it 🙂 , it would be as it is explained above. If your iddah (waiting period) is over and your husand refuses to accept Islam and remains a disbeliever, then your marriage to him is automatically annulled. You wouldn't be required to do anything - you are not required islamically to have a civil divorce in order to be free because you cannot remain married to a disbeliever.
And Allah knows best.
Yes indeed sister, there is no divorce in our country, only annulment! However annulment is a very complicated process. Thanks for your time in answering my question.
This means a lot!
what if i change to islam just to get out from my previous marriage who is a christian man so i can marry my muslim boyfriend? is it allowed in the eyes of allah?
No, this would not be acceptable. Your conversion must be sincere, out of faith and belief in Allah.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Salamaliekum,
I have read your answer to Sister Maria on the annulment of marriage where the women converts to Islam.
I have a question over a Man converting to Islam then What is the status of the marriage of a Christian Man married to a Christian Woman and after several years converting to Islam?
The Christian wife and children are still professing Christianity and the man is now Alhamdulliah a good Muslim.
Does his marriage with the Christian woman continues and subsist after change in faith to Islam?
Walaykum as salam, Brother Mohammed Ali,
You should ask this question to an Imam/Mufti. As far as I know, and I am an ignorant, as muslim you are allow to marry a christian, then it shouldn´t affect your marriage the fact that you converted. When it is a woman converting, she can only marry muslims then if she is married to a christian man she has a period of grace where the husband can convert if not the marriage is invalid and should seek for divorce.
Please forgive me if I am wrong in anything, I encourage you again to go to a prepared person on this subjects.
Wasalam,
María
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
A.salaam
I have a question.
I am a muslim woman and I love my religion.
I have found myself a perfect parter. My definition of 'perfect' is a man who knows how to respect a woman, her faith, her beliefs, her job, opinions, who loves her and stands up for her, who knows how to protect her and who gives her attention.
He is a christian, I as a muslim woman feel that it is unfair for me to ask him to change his religion if he does not wish to do so since he readily respects mine and would never want force me to convert into a christian, so does that mean I should give up on him?? a human being with an amazing personality, a loving heart and is extremely caring. I am not promised yet to meet a muslim man like that, I'm not saying they dont exist, i just havent met one.
Zainab, I believe there are many Muslim men who meet this definition, and if you are patient and faithful, Allah will reward you. Your relationship with the non-Muslim man is prohibited. There is no marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man, period.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Salaams. IAM a Muslim sister but interested in a non Muslim will it still be accepted or not
There is no marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man. It is invalid and rejected by Islam.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
I have a question ahki... What if theres a situation were a christian woman is married to a christian man. She decides to leave her husband and they have been separated for several months but the divorce hasnt been finalized in the court system. She hasnt taken shahadah but very close to it and the muslim man wants to marry her Islamically. Can the Imam marry these 2 individuals even though shes still married in the court system?
Bilal, the answer is no, they cannot marry. She is already a married woman. Since her divorce has not gone through, and she has not converted to Islam, she is not eligible for marriage to another man.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
salam! I am a converted islam since last sept, 2012 n my marriage with my christian husband is not in good condition since 2010. I always told him i want to convert to Islam which He strongly disagree.until such time i converted and went for umrah last february 2013.i always convince my husband to convert so we will leave together in islamic way.but he is hard. I separated from Him since november 2011 and still he call and talk about our daughter.now i got married already in Islam to an Islam man..My xhusband threatened me that he will file for me adultery because in our country(Philippines) there is no divorce only annulment which is very long process and needs much money. We had Shariah Court that had divorce but my previous marriage is in Christian,,What should i do? Can I seek protection from shariah court? Pls help me..
sarah, I don't know the answer to your question. If you log in and write your question as a separate post, perhaps some of our readers will be able to advise you.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor