Q350 :Some eight years ago I married a Christian
woman who declared before our marriage that she has benete a Muslim.
Now she wants to return to her original religion. She did not at all
pray according to Islamic way after our marriage. I always tried to see
her as a Muslim woman, but she seems intent on reverting to
Christianity. What effect would that have on our marriage? We have no
children.
A350 : It is permissible for a Muslim man to marry a
Christian or a Jewish woman. This means that your wife need not have
changed her religion in order for your marriage to go through. She
could have remained a Christian and your marriage would have been
valid. Perhaps I should add here that although an inter-faith
marriage of this type is allowed, it is by no means encouraged, because
inter-faith marriages often run into difficulties. When a person,
whether a man or a woman, renounces Islam, his or her marriage is
automatically rendered invalid, because of the apostasy involved. In a
situation like yours, where the wife became a Muslim, her apostasy
invalidates your marriage and you may not be reunited in marriage any
longer. It is different from a straightforward divorce which can be
revoked and the marriage reinstated. Moreover, that woman is not
permissible for any Muslim man to marry. She is not treated like an
ordinary Christian. She is treated as an apostate. Therefore, if your
wife decides to revert to Christianity, you consider your marriage at
an end. However, you may have to netply with certain requirements of
the law of your country, such as the registration of divorce. But
then, may I ask you whether your wife was ever a Muslim? Is it you who
can answer this question. She may have declared that she has converted
to Islam, but how far was this genuine? Did she ever believe in the
message of Prophet Muhammad and consider the Qur’an as the Divine Book
which should be implemented at least in your family life? If the answer
is in the negative, then the whole affair of her conversion to Islam
was a joke. No one is allowed to take Islam other than seriously. If
you are living in a Muslim country and your case netes before an
Islamic Court and she states that she was not serious when she declared
that she was a Muslim, the court will take that statement as an offence
against Islam. You should explain all this to your wife and let her
decide for herself. Islam does not believe in netpulsion in matters of
religion. If she says that she wants to go back to Christianity, you
tell her that your marriage is automatically nullified. You should
leave her immediately in that case. If, after being told of the
implications, she decides to remain a Muslim, you have to take positive
steps in order to educate her in the principles of Islam and explain to
her what duties Islam expects her to fulfil. You should try to
encourage her to adopt gradually an Islamic way of life. As she gets to
know more and more about Islam, I am sure she will be more and more
convinced of its truth.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )