Monday, May 16, 2005

Married to non-muslim

Question: At an earlier stage in my life I strayed far from the path of Islam and married a non muslim. We now have a 8 month old daughter. Alhamdulillah I am now endeavouring to return to Islam and am praying my namaaz, reading the Quran and trying to earn a halal living. My wife however has not yet converted to Islam but Inshallah I am hopeful that one day this will happen. My question is that, if my wife did not accept Islam, and we divorced, I would possibly be unable to guide my daughter in the Islamic faith. In this situation, is it better to stay in such a marriage and continue to invite my wife to the faith and guide my daughter or is it better to cut my ties with them, however painful it might be, and hope and pray that Allah will forgive me for my shortcomings.

Answer: To raise your daughter to be a good muslim is a religious obligation. Do not say that you are "endeavouring to return to Islam" because returning to Islam means to become muslim, so this expression implies that you are not. I know that this expression is often used to mean "return to complete practise of the religion", or the like, but its literal meaning is very ugly, so it should not be used.

... and Allah knows best.