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Q. Does the new
muslimah have to immediately leave her husband
if he is not muslim?
I just accepted Islam and was told to leave my
husband immediately. How long can I wait to
see if he accepts Islam or must I immediately
leave?
A. A Brief Respite
is Permissible
In the example below, we see that the Prophet
(saws) permitted a brief respite for the husband
to accept Islam before declaring the marriage
prohibited. Notice that he gave an ultimatum as
to the time frame and did not intend for the
wife to wait indefinitely.
If the new Muslimah wants to seek divorce
because her husband will not accept Islam, that
is her right to do so, as she is prohibited to
continue permanently with a non-Muslim husband,
regardless of whether they have children or not.
And the children go to the parent "with the
better religion", which in this case would
obviously be Islam. So, from an Islamic
perspective, she has the right and
responsibility to take the children with her and
to receive child support from the biological
father. Allah, swt, says in Baqarah 233, "the
father of the child shall bear the cost of the
mother's food and clothing on a reasonable
basis."
Insha'Allah, your husband will accept Islam. Try
to involve an Imam in giving dawah to him if
possible. Begin with the basics of shahada. And
Allah knows what is best for you, so put your
hope and trust in Allah, swt.
Al Muwatta Hadith 28.44 says:
Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab that he had
heard that in the time of the Messenger of
Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
women were becoming Muslim in their own lands
and they did not do hijra while their husbands
were still kafirun although they themselves had
become Muslim. Among them was the daughter of
al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and she was the wife of
Safwan ibn Umayya. She became Muslim on the day
of the conquest (of Makka), and her husband,
Safwan ibn Umayya fled from Islam. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, sent Safwan's paternal cousin, Wahb ibn
Umayr with the cloak of the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a
safe-conduct for Safwan ibn Umayya, and the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, called him to Islam and asked
for him to come to him and if he was pleased
with the matter to accept it. If not he would
have a respite for two months.
When Safwan came to the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his
cloak, he called out to him over the heads of
the people, "Muhammad! Wahb ibn Umayr brought me
your cloak and claimed that you had summoned me
to come to you and if I was pleased with the
matter, I should accept it and if not, you would
give me a respite for two months. "The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, "Come down, Abu Wahb." He said,
"No, by Allah! I will not come down until you
make it clear to me." The Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"You have a respite of four months." The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, went out toward Hawazin at
Hunayn. He sent to Safwan ibn Umayya to borrow
some equipment and arms that he had. Safwan
said, "Willingly or unwillingly?" He said,
"Willingly." Therefore he lent him the equipment
and arms which he had. Then Safwan went out with
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, while he was still a kafir. He
was present at the battles of Hunayn and at-Ta'if
while he was still a kafir and his wife was a
muslim. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, did not separate Safwan
and his wife until he had become muslim, and his
wife was settled with him by that marriage. |