Tell spouse about Zina
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Aslam 'o'Alaikum brother Burhan,
I have a question for which has confused me.
If a man commits zina and regrets this and does 'taubah' for forgiveness from
almighty Allah Subhanah.
Then in the future when he is going to marry a muslim woman who is pure, is he
required under islam and by the order of Allah Subhanah to tell this woman of
his past sins and of this zina.
What should one do in this situation? I look forward to your reply inshAllah.
Wasalaam,
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54: (O
Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair
of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before
the scourge overtakes you; for then you
may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse
135-136: Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong
their own soul by the commission of a sin,
remember Allah instantly, and ask
for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who,
but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly
persist in the wrongs they did. These
will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah,
and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do
good deeds!
Your
statement:If a man commits zina and regrets this and does 'taubah' for
forgiveness from almighty Allah Subhanah. Then in the future when he is going
to marry a muslim woman who is pure, is he required under islam and by the
order of Allah Subhanah to tell this woman of his past sins and of this zina.
If one who has
committed any grave sin, and subsequently sought sincere Taubah and amended his
conduct, it is expected that the Merciful Lord would have mercy upon him and
forgive him his sin.
When
Allah Subhanah has covered and veiled his sin from becoming public knowledge,
it does not behove a believer to uncover his sins in public. There is nothing in Shariah that states that
a person must confess his sin to another human being, after he has made his
confession and repentance to Allah Subhanah.
The
person who has committed sins in ignorance, be it a man or a woman, must not
unveil his sins after Allah Subhanah has veiled them from the world. When one has sincerely repented, and subsequently amended his/her
conduct; then one should hope for
Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness.
Thus, when Allah Subhanah has
covered the sins and faults of his believing slaves, we too should not put ourselves in a trial
by exposing ourselves unnecessarily.
There is absolutely no need to mention ones past evil deeds to the
spouse and destroy or sow seeds of mistrust in the sacred bond of marriage. If one has done an evil in ignorance in the
past, and has subsequently sincerely
repented for his/her deeds, and amended
their conduct; then it would be best to
leave the past in the past and concentrate on doing righteous good deeds in the
future.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan