“A male fornicator would only marry a female fornicator/adulterer or those who associate partners with Allah or worship other than Allah. And a female fornicator/adulterer would only be married to a fornicator or those who associate partners with Allah or worship other than Allah. This is all forbidden to the believers.” (Qur’an 24:3)
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One of the known positions in the school of the Muslims, The People of the Truth and Steadfastness, (Ahl Al Haqq Wal Istiqamah) is that one cannot marry a person whom they have committed fornication or adultery with. Rather those people who have done so are to be punished, banished and than only to marry among those who have committed similar acts.
Those whom associate partners with Allah or worship other than Allah are to be married among themselves. Those Muslims who have committed adultery/fornication are to only marry those Muslims who have similarly committed acts of adultery/fornication. They are forbidden to marry the ones they have committed fornication/adultery with.
If you will notice many English translations of this text seem convoluted. It gives the impression that if a Muslim man or woman committed fornication that they could marry an idol worshiper. Nothing can be further from the truth.
I wanted to comment on two sections of this article. The first is the following paragraph.
“There are cases where some men pursuing an illegal sexual relationship, trick and deceive women that resist their sexual advances. The most commonly deceptive trick used by these men is to entice women into fake marriage proposals in order to coerce an unlawful relationship with them. Many women, especially younger women, are duped by these men; so they accept and yield to their seduction only to realize later that it was an utter lie.”
“It is logically conceivable, therefore, that the legalization of post-fornication and post-adultery marriages has been an open invitation for committing adultery among young Muslim men and women. The permissibility of post-fornication and post-adultery marriages has been the reason for moral corruption and carefree attitude among young people when it comes to sexual relationships. In such societies, men see no consequence for their conduct; and a gullible woman thinks she will be rewarded with marriage by succumbing to a pre-marriage sexual relationship. She will have no reason not to believe since the society she lives in has accepted such marriages. Had the idea of impermissibility of the post-fornication and the post adultery marriages prevailed in Muslim societies and been entrenched in their culture, a Muslim woman would not have been taken advantage of: she could recognize a lie when she heard it. She could respond to it by saying that: post-fornication and post-adultery marriages are not allowed in the Islamic religion. So the fact is that, there will be no marriage between us after we engage in an illegal sexual relationship.”
The above paragraph are very sound in reasoning. They make a very forceful argument.
“That is because, each of the two partners, in such marriages, is most likely to doubt the other to be an adulterer, since as adulterers they found each other prior to their marriage. The fact that one spouse knows what mischief the other spouse is capable of doing can be utterly destructive to their mutual trust and mutual respect, and eventually to the marriage itself. Thus it can be conclusively said that mutual trust and mutual respect lead to happiness and tranquility in any marriage Conversely, the lack of 34 trust and respect between spouses, which could be very much the result of their premarital mating, nourishes the meltdown of love and increases tension in the marriage.”
Prima Qur’an comments:
It is not explained how that a person who has committed fornication/adultery and than marries another person who has similarly committed fornication/adultery would not suspect their spouse of mischief. After all the reason they know they are able to marry each other is because of the very fact that both are equal of doing the same sin.
As much as I love, respect and admire our teacher and Shaykh the above point does not logically follow for me. However, there could be another eye opener which shows once again the divine nature of the Qur’an mash’Allah. Note -this is not an argument against the fiqh position this is an argument against the use of rai’ (reason) that does not seem to follow through.
By limiting those who have committed fornication/adultery to marry only those who have similarly done such things is one possible safety measure to stop the spread of sexual infectious diseases. Or, perhaps, to allow those who may have contracted infectious sexual disease to enjoy the fruits of marriage and companionship among themselves.
The Blessed Messenger (saw) is reported to have said on the authority of Jabir:
“Every disease has a cure. If a cure is applied to the disease, it is relieved by the permission of Allah Almighty.”
Source: (Sahih Muslim 2204)
There is a encounter that was mentioned to me concerning Shaykh Ahmed Al Khalili (h). He was in the middle of Oman and approached by a man from the Hanafi school. The man said, “Oh Shaykh I have committed Zina and I really love this woman and I want her to be the mother of our children.” The Shaykh replied to the man: “May Allah give you better than her.”
Though it is not polite to say to the man’s face I imagine that the Shaykh also thought: “May Allah give her better than you.”
Do note that this is a widely known position with in the school. There are other voices with in the Ibadi school that do not agree with the above position. If you are thinking of adopting the school or have questions on this matter kindly consult a scholar a scholar of the school.
What about those who are have done such things prior to Islam? Is their marriage still valid?
The answer to this is yes:
“Tell the disbelievers that if they desist, their past will be forgiven. But if they persist, then they have an example in those destroyed before them.” (Qur’an 8:38)
This is the downloadable pdf and Shaykh Juma Muhammed al-Mazuri has laid out one of the strong positions (Mashoor) in our school in regard to this matter.
For further reading:
Prima Quran 