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:

Dear Brother Burhan:

Assalaam-O-alaikum. I am a State of New Jersey approved volunteer for the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, NJ. I go there every Monday and hold a class to teach basics about Islam to the Muslim inmates. Most of the inmates who come to the class are African-americans who have reverted to Islam. Sometimes they have questions for me that I find difficult to answer (I am not a religious scholar). One inmate told me that while he is in the prison, his wife has committed adultry and confessed to having done so. He asked me what should he do? He wondered if their nikah had automatically become invalid because of his wife's confession. He wondered if it was still lawful for him to share the bed with his wife or should he divorce her or have the nikah performed again. Are they still legally husband and wife? He is very disturbed with the thought that she might have become pregnant from her adultry. I would greatly appreciate your response to this problem. This inmate is anxiously waiting for an answer. Thankl you.

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Answer:

Does zina of wife negate nikaah?

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.

Beloved brother in Islam, may Allah Subhanah reward you generously for the time and effort you take to visit our brothers in their jails and help them understand the deen of Islam. This is indeed a great service and an extremely noble task that you have undertaken in the service of the Cause of Islam. May Allah Subhanah accept your striving and reward you with the highest grade in Al-Firdaus for your selfless efforts in the Cause.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 61 Surah Saff verses 10-12:

10 O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?

11 That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah with your property and your persons: that will be best for you if ye but knew!

12 He will forgive you your sins and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity: that is indeed the Supreme Achievement.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.424 Narrated by Sahl

I heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "A (small) place equal to an area occupied by a whip in Paradise is better than the (whole) world and whatever is in it; and an undertaking (journey) in the forenoon or in the afternoon for Allah's Cause, is better than the whole world and whatever is in it."

We pray that Allah accept your selfless striving in serving the Cause of Islam by visiting our muslim brothers in their jails, and humbly pray and beg the Merciful Lord to grant you the promised reward of the Gardens of Eternity and its High and Beautiful Mansions that He has promised to those who strive in His Cause.

Q-1: One inmate told me that while he is in the prison, his wife has committed adultry and confessed to having done so. He asked me what should he do?

Indeed the act of ‘zina’ is a grave sin in Islam, whether it is done by a man or a woman. The wife should seek immediate and sincere ‘taubah’ and repentance from the Merciful Lord, and amend her conduct. If she indeed seeks sincere repentance, and makes a solemn pledge and covenant with her Lord that she will never ever go near this abomination of ‘zina’ again, she will find her Lord Merciful and Forgiving.

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!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54: When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Q-1A: He asked me what should he do?

If the husband feels that the wife did this evil in ignorance, and is sincerely repentant over her deeds and has sincere intentions to amend her conduct; it would be best if he could bring himself to forgive and over-look this deed; treat her with honor and respect, save his marriage and keep her as his wife, and expect his reward from the Lord Most Merciful. This would be the best and most righteous thing the man could do in the sight of the Lord.

But if the man feels that the wife is not at all repentant after this deed, and feels that she will continue committing ‘zina’ in the future; then it would be best if he divorced her.

Q-2: He wondered if their nikah had automatically become invalid because of his wife's confession.

As grave as the sin of ‘zina’ may be in the sight of the Lord All-Mighty, the committing of ‘zina’ nor its confession, has any bearing whatsoever on the validity of the existing nikaah of the person. The married couple remain husband and wife in the sight of the Shariah in all respects, unless and until they actually wish to seek a proper Shariah divorce.

Q-3: He wondered if it was still lawful for him to share the bed with his wife or should he divorce her or have the nikah performed again.

Their ‘nikaah’ is absolutely valid, and they remain husband and wife even after one amongst them has committed the abomination of ‘zina’. They are absolutely within their rights as a husband and wife to conjugate and live together as a married couple. He is neither required to divorce her, nor perform the nikaah again.

Q-4: Are they still legally husband and wife?

In the sight of Shariah and of Allah Subhanah, they are still legally married and remain husband and wife.

Q-5: He is very disturbed with the thought that she might have become pregnant from her adultry

Even if the wife becomes pregnant due to her adultery, it would not effect the state of the current marriage; but there would be several changes regarding the lineage and rights of inheritance of the child which need to be taken into consideration in Islam. If that is indeed the case, we would Insha Allah address those questions if and when they are asked.

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