Q505 :I was married to a girl who became a Muslim a
few days before our marriage. My parents sent her back when she gave
birth only six months after our marriage. Doctors suggest that the baby
is not mine, as it is fully matured, weighing 2.5 kg. I am told to
divorce her. Should I?
A505 : The first point to be made here is that most
Muslim scholars agree that the shortest possible duration of pregnancy
is six months, after which a woman may give birth to a developed baby.
If a woman gives birth after six months, it is not possible for anyone
to accuse her of adultery. At the time of Umar (May Allah be pleased
with him) a woman gave birth to a baby after six months. Ali was
assigned to inflict on her the punishment for adultery. But Ali (May
Allah be pleased with him) whom he had appointed judge, told him that
he would be exceeding his authority if he did that. Ali referred to two
verses in the Qur’an, one stating that the full period of
breast-feeding extends to two years. The other mentioned that the total
period of pregnancy and breast-feeding is 30 month. Simple arithmetic
shows that a pregnancy for six months is possible. Umar let the woman
alone. When you married this woman, you were aware that she was not a
virgin. Her past sins are overlooked because she became a Muslim a few
days before your marriage. Since you accepted her as she was, then you
must not go back on your word and make issue with her about what she
did before she married to you or question her. For this period of time,
you are able to judge whether she has the features of making of a good
Muslim wife or not. Only you can answer this question. If you know her
to have benete a good Muslim and she has stopped un-Islamic practices
since she became a Muslim, then it is probably best for you to keep
her. On the other hand, if she has not taken her conversion to Islam
seriously, then you should consider leaving her. There is another
highly important point to consider. Although the shortest possible
duration of pregnancy is six months, she might have been pregnant when
you got married to her. Only she can tell. You should, therefore,
emphasize to her the importance of knowing whether she was pregnant or
not at the time when the marriage contract was made. If she was
pregnant, then you should have a new marriage contract, because your
marriage is not valid. It is not permissible for a Muslim to marry a
pregnant woman until she has given birth. The Prophet says: “Anyone who
believes in Allah and the last day must not irrigate with his water a
seed planted by another person.” You should appreciate the figurative
method of expression here. It does not refer to true irrigation because
a fetus does not need any such irrigation. It is also reported that a
man discovered that the woman he had married was pregnant. He put the
matter up to the Prophet who nullified the marriage, gave the woman her
dower and ordered the woman to be flogged 100 lashes, which is the
punishment for fornication. You have to determine the status of your
marriage in the light of the foregoing, but you must not treat your
wife with suspicion, particularly if you know her to be honest. If you
know her not to tell lies, and she tells you that she was not pregnant
at the time of your marriage, you should accept that statement from
her.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )