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:

Brother, i have problem but i dnt know what i will do please i need ur help according to Quran and Hadiths saying, Im in love and want to marry a lady who is married before and she is not divorced from her husband,actually she was christian

before but Alhamadolillah she became muslim in ramadan before 2years.She is from philipine and in there culture or in there

country there is no divorced,and she is separated from her husband before 8years.and now i want to marry her and she is also

ready to marry me,so please can u tell me is`t allowed in islam to marry that lady even she was married before, and wht islam

says about this situation.

thank you 

(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:

Marry married woman

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Respected brother, if the sister has accepted Islam, her marriage to a disbelieving husband which she did before her acceptance of Islam, would be deemed immediately annulled and invalid in the Sight of Shariah.

She is free and eligible to marry any eligible believer of her choice, and if she accepts your proposal and you fulfill all the obligatory conditions of an Islamic ‘nikaah’, your marriage to her would be deemed legal and valid in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah.

Because her acceptance of Islam annuls her previous marriage to the disbeliever she was married to earlier in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah, she does not need to obtain a divorce from her disbelieving husband to marry again. But to comply with the laws of the land, it would only be prudent if she sought a legal divorce from her ex-husband, so that there are no legal repercussions on her if she married someone else.

But as far as Shariah Law is concerned, she does not need a legal divorce to marry again….because the marriage of a woman who accepts Islam immediately and automatically annuls her previous marriage to a disbeliever in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah.

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