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,

My question is about husband who commited zina more than one time and I as a wife don`t know if I should ask for a divorce or not. He told me by his own tongue that he did so and asked for my forgviness and as i mentioned this is not the first time to ask for my forgivness. To tell you the truth i start to feel hatered towared my husband and it doesn`t seems it is a big deal getting divorce as it did before for me, but the problem is my son I don`t want to be so selfish and prevent him from his own right to be raised like any normal kid with his father and mother being around.

I really appreciate your guidance in this matter borther and thank you so very much. 

(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:

Husband commit zina

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 17 Surah Israa verse 32:

Do not even go near ‘zina’ (fornication or adultery) for it is a very indecent thing and a very evil way!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 2:

The woman and the man guilty of ‘zina’ (fornication), flog each one of them with a hundred stripes, and let not pity for them restrain you in regard to a matter prescribed by Allah; if indeed you believe in Allah and the Last Day! And let a section of the believers witness the punishment inflicted on them.

Zina (adultery) is considered amongst the gravest sins in Islam. One can imagine the severity of the sin, by the punishment Allah and His Messenger (saws) have decreed for the sin. If one is living in an Islamic State and gets convicted of the sin of zina (adultery), the punishment prescribed by Allah and His Messenger (saws) for the life of this world is that the convict should be stoned to death!! And if the person dies without making Taubah or asking repentance from Allah Subhanah in the life of this world, the punishment of the Hereafter in the Just Court of Allah Subhanah is even more severe and more lasting than the punishment of the world!!

Dear and beloved sister in Islam, as a believing and God-fearing wife of a husband who has transgressed the bounds of the Lord and committed zina, you have two lawful options in Islam:

Option-1: If you believe that your husband committed the evil of zina in ignorance, fears Allah and His Day of Accounting, and is sincerely ashamed and repentant for his abomination of a crime….and you can bring yourself to forgive him, it would be best to forgive him his sin, save your marriage, and expect the reward for your patience with none save Allah Subhanah.

Option-2: But if you see that your husband neither fears Allah, nor the Day of Judgment, nor is he ashamed nor repentant for his heinous crime….and given half an opportunity he would indulge in the same sin again; you are well within your rights in Islam and it would be best to initiate a divorce proceeding and separate yourself from such an evil and impious person.

But my beloved sister in Islam, as long as you are married to him, regardless of whether he fulfills his rights towards you or not….it is your duty as a believing and God-fearing woman to fulfill all your rights towards him in marriage. Even if it may seem that the unjust party might get away with his injustice and crime in the life of this world, rest assured that one will never ever be able to get away with his crime in the Majestic Presence of the Lord Most High on that Inevitable and Tumultuous Day of Judgment.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan