Pregnant before nikaah
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 In
Islam
Assalamu wa
alalilkum wa rahmattullah hi wa barkatuhu
I enjoy reading
and learning from your question and answers. Please answer this
question. I am a convert - I believe Allah guided me to this
religion because I had been intensely praying for quidance. But when I
had my nikkah I was a few weeks pregnant. I would like to know if my son
can lead prayers. He is a very religous boy. What I have heard is
that I should not have had nikah during pregnancy and that my nikah is
invalid. I know I commited sin and ask for Allah forgives as much as
possible, I was not aware of these things. In fact I was ignorant of a
lot of things which I learnt after getting married and becoming a Muslim.
I feel bad that my child should be punished for my sins.
(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:
Pregnant before nikaah
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 no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Statement: I am
a convert - I believe Allah guided me to this religion because I had been
intensely praying for quidance.
May Allah Subhanah bless and grace your reversion to the Truth of Al-Islam, and make it a source for your success in this world and the hereafter.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah
Ankabut verse 69:And those who strive in Our (Cause) We
will certainly guide them to Our Paths: for verily Allah is with those who do
right.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verses 125-126:So (the fact is that) whomever Allah
wills to guide aright, He makes his
breast wide open to Islam. And
whomever He wills to let go astray, He
makes his breast narrow and squeezes it so tight that (at the very idea of
Islam) he begins to feel as if his soul were climbing up towards the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath over those who do
not believe, whereas this Way is the
Straight Way of your Lord, and We have
made its Signs quite clear for those who are open to advice.
Your Question: But
when I had my nikkah I was a few weeks pregnant. I would like to know if
my son can lead prayers. He is a very
religous boy.
Conversion to Al-Islam wipes out all the sins prior to the conversion! Besides, if you sincerely sought repentance from the Merciful Lord for your act of sin, you will Insha Allah, find the Merciful Lord Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Your son will not bear any responsibility nor be
discriminated for any of your actions,
and his leading the prayers has absolutely no bearings on whether you
were pregnant or not before your nikaah.
If he is chosen as the ‘imam’ to lead the prayers, his and the prayers of the believers who
pray behind him are absolutely valid and legitimate.
Your Question: What I have heard is that I should not have
had nikah during pregnancy and that my nikah is invalid. I know I commited sin and ask for Allah
forgives as much as possible, I was not aware of these things. In fact I
was ignorant of a lot of things which I learnt after getting married and
becoming a Muslim.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah
Anaam verse 54:When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the
rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you
did evil in ignorance, and thereafter
repented and amended (his conduct), Lo!
He is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful."
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!
If one commits a sin in ignorance, and subsequently seeks sincere repentance
from the Merciful Lord and amends his/her conduct; it is expected that the Merciful Lord will wipe out their sins
completely. It is obvious from your
statements that you are sincerely repentant for your deeds done in ignorance in
the past and have sought forgiveness from the One Who Forgives all sins. May Allah Subhanah accept your repentance
and reward you generously in this world and the Hereafter.
Whether or not one is pregnant at the time of nikaah, has absolutely no bearing on the legality
and validity of the nikaah. If the
nikaah met all the conditions of Shariah like proposal and acceptance, the determination of mehr, and the presence of two witnesses to the
contract, etc.; the Nikaah will be
deemed valid and legal in the sight of Shariah. The woman being pregnant at the time of nikaah has absolutely no
bearing on its validity.
P.S. : Beloved sister in Islam, we have obviously assumed that you were
pregnant with the child of the same person whom you subsequently married and
our answer is based on that assumption.
If you were married to a person and were pregnant with
his child, and subsequently did nikaah
with another person, then the legal
ruling and implications will be completely different!
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,