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:

Assalam-0-Alyqum,
Couple of month ago my daughter got married and that gentle got converted from bohra to a sunni and went to the mosque with my husband and recited the kalma shahadat infront of the mufti and gave his words to my husband and the mufti that he is not getting converted just for the sake of marriage but after few weeks of nikkah he accepted the fact that he only pretended and he still has his old believes, i.e he is bohra.....my daughter is so worried and scared now she is wondering is the nikkah still valid and can my daughter live with him. He also gave this choice to my daughter that she is free to follow what is been following (which is sunnism) and also the children can be raised sunni but my daughter is so afraid to trust him again since he has already broken his promise by lying to us at the time of nikkah. so please brother let me know what should we do? I`ll be looking forward for u`r reply at the soonest.
Wassalam,
a sister. 

(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:

Bohra converted for marriage

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.

Firstly, any person who declares the testimony of faith or shahaadah, that there is no god but Allah Subhanah Alone, and Mohamed (saws) is His Last Messenger, will be considered a muslim in the sight of Shariah, and the rights that are due to a believer will be accorded to him.

Your Question: my daughter is so worried and scared now she is wondering is the nikkah still valid

It was indeed wrong and a sin of the Bohra brother to have lied at the time of marriage, and he must seek sincere Taubah from Allah Subhanah. Regardless of what has happened, the nikaah will be considered absolutely valid in the sight of Shariah.

Your Question: so please brother let me know what should we do?

Allah Subhanah Alone knows why the Bohra brother chose to lie at the time of marriage, but it was indeed wrong of him to do so. Now the nikaah is already done and the woman has basically three options:

bear the choice she has made with patience

with patience and with wisdom, invite her husband to read the Quran with understanding so that he may recognize and accept the Truth.

or, she has the option to initiate a divorce proceeding, and there will be no sin upon her if she does.

In our humble opinion, the best option would be to be patient, and invite the brother to read the Holy Quran with understanding; it is expected that once a person sincerely seeks understanding of the Words of Allah Subhanah and seeks guidance, Allah Subhanah will guide him to the Truth of Islam. It would require extreme patience and wisdom, but in the situation presented, that would be the best option in our humble opinion. No matter what happens, the wife is absolutely innocent and there will be no sin upon her whether she chooses to remain married to him, or she chooses to divorce him. If she chooses to remain married, and if through her efforts she is able to convince her husband of the Truth of Islam, she will have a huge reward in the Presence of the Merciful Lord, Insha Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 16, Surah An-Nahl Ayat 125: Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and argue with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Way and who is Rightly guided.

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