Q – Salaamu Alaikum Ya Sheikh. I had an affair with a man a week to my wedding with a different man. Some months later I discovered that I am pregnant for the first man not my husband. I had a miscarriage and later became pregnant for my husband. Until now nobody knew about this, at times I feel like confessing. My question here is please how valid is my marriage and how does this affect my child Islamically?
Anonymous, Abuja
A – If this immoral action came after the marriage contract was done, even if it was before the wedding party, then this marriage of yours is valid but you have to repent from this sin that you fell into.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the wife of a man commits zina, or her husband commits zina, the marriage contract is not rendered invalid, whether that happens before or after consummation, according to the opinion of most of the scholars.
If this zina took place before the marriage contract was done, the marriage contract is not valid unless it was done after establishing that there was no pregnancy by waiting for one menstrual cycle, according to the more correct opinion.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Marriage to a zaaniyah (a woman who has committed fornication) is haraam until she repents, whether the one who committed zina with her is the bridegroom himself or someone else. This is the correct opinion beyond a doubt, and it is the opinion of a number of the earlier and later scholars, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others.
Many of the earlier and later scholars were of the view that it is permissible, and this is the view of the three, but Maalik stipulated that it should be established that there is no pregnancy by waiting for one menstrual cycle, and Abu Haneefah regarded it as permissible to do the marriage contract before waiting for one menstrual cycle if she is pregnant, however if she is pregnant it is not permissible to have intercourse with her until she gives birth.
Ash-Shaafa‘i regarded it as permissible to do the marriage contract and to have intercourse in all cases, because the water (semen) of the zaani has no value in sharee‘ah and the ruling is that no child is to be attributed to him. This is his justification for his opinion. Abu Haneefah differentiated between the one who is pregnant and the one who is not, because if (the husband) has intercourse with the one who is pregnant, he will be attributing to himself a child who definitely is not his, which is different from the case of one who is not pregnant.
Maalik and Ahmad stipulated that it should be established that there is no pregnancy (by waiting for one menstrual cycle), which is the correct view. But Maalik and Ahmad, according to another report, stipulated that it should be established that there is no pregnancy by waiting for one menstrual cycle.
The other report from Ahmad is that which is followed by many of his companions such as al-Qaadi Abu Ya‘la and his followers, which is that it is essential to wait for three menstrual cycles. However the correct view is that all that is required is to establish that there is no pregnancy (by waiting for one menstrual cycle).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (13/382): Rather the opinion narrated from Abu Bakr and a number of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) is that there is no ‘iddah at all for the woman who committed zina, and there is no requirement to establish that there is no pregnancy, especially if she has a husband, because of the words of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “The infant is to be attributed to the husband of the woman (who gave birth to him).”
Rather if a man knows that his wife has committed zina – Allah forbid – and has repented, he should have intercourse with her immediately, so that no doubt will remain in his heart in the future as to whether she became pregnant as a result of zina or not. If he has intercourse with her immediately, the child will be assumed to be from the husband and not from the zaani (adulterer).
But if the woman who committed zina (fornication) did not have a husband, it is essential to establish that there is no pregnancy by waiting for one menstrual cycle, according to the correct opinion. End quote.
Thirdly: Because this issue is the subject of a considerable difference of opinion among the scholars, and because annulling the marriage and admitting zina after this length of time will lead to a great deal of trouble and disclosing that which Allah had concealed for you, and will expose you to turmoil, we think – and Allah knows best – that in this case you do not have to tell your husband about what happened in order to renew the marriage contract.
And Allah knows best.