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

salaam walekum,

if a man changes his religion from hindu to muslim, andmarries a muslim woman.and has children but gives them hindu names and brings them up like hindus are these children muslim

second then they grow up and the father dies and the mother starts bringing them up like muslims, and gets the girl married to a muslim man by just changing the name to muslim does her marrage to this muslim man correct and in accordance to sharia

the girl is 18 years at the time of nikhah, 

(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:

Revert to islam but no intentions

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.

Your Question: ….if a man changes his religion from hindu to muslim, andmarries a muslim woman.and has children but gives them hindu names and brings them up like hindus are these children muslim

Allah Subhanah has not accorded or bestowed upon the believers a meter or a gauge whereby one can determine the ‘intentions’ of another’s hearts….the intentions of one’s hearts are either known to the person who makes the intentions or to Allah Subhanah Alone and no one else.

If a disbeliever verbally declares the ‘shahaadah’ and professes belief in the Absolute Oneness of Allah Subhanah and in the appointment of Prophet Mohamed (saws) as the Last and Final Messenger of Allah….regardless of the intentions of the person, such a person will be considered a ‘muslim’ in the Sight of Shariah Law and in the sight of the believers….and every single right that is accorded to a believer will be accorded to him in full. Unless and until the person himself declares apostasy from Islam, he will be regarded as a ‘legal’ believer; he may marry an eligible believing woman, he may visit the Sacred House, he will be given a muslim burial, he may inherit from his believing relatives, his believing relatives will inherit from him, etc…..basically every single right that is due to a believer will be accorded to this believer in absolute full.

It is only on the Day of Judgment when the Lord All-Knowing All-Wise will Determine with Justice whether the person was indeed a true believer or not.

If the revert brother fulfills all the obligatory conditions of a ‘nikaah’ and marries a believing woman, the children resulting from this marriage will be considered as ‘muslims’….unless of course the children themselves verbally declare apostasy and intend to leave the fold of Islam.

Your Question: ….second then they grow up and the father dies and the mother starts bringing them up like muslims, and gets the girl married to a muslim man by just changing the name to muslim does her marrage to this muslim man correct and in accordance to sharia the girl is 18 years at the time of nikhah, 

If the daughter resulting from the marriage between a revert muslim and a believing woman grows up and marries a believer, provided all the obligatory conditions of a ‘nikaah’ were fulfilled, the marriage itself will be absolutely legal and valid in the Sight of Shariah Law.

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