Question:
A man committed fornication with a woman and this continued for some time. Can this man now marry this woman? Please clarify according to the book and Sunnah.
Answer:
Among the major sins declared in Islamic Shariah is adultery. If a Muslim commits this sin, he repents and seeks forgiveness from Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran about such people:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَامًا يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَانًا إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا﴾
“And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. The punishment will be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated—Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.”
This noble verse indicates that if a person commits a grave act like adultery and then sincerely repents, Allah Almighty accepts his repentance. If such a person’s case does not reach the ruler of the time, is not presented in court, and his sin remains concealed, then no legal punishment (hudood) is imposed on him; his matter is left to Allah Almighty. It is narrated from Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
بايعوني على أن لا تشركوا بالله شيئا ولا تسرقوا ولا تزنوا ولا تقتلوا أولادكم ولا تأتوا ببهتان تفترونه بين أيديكم وأرجلكم ولا تعصوا فى معروف فمن وفىٰ منكم فأجره على الله ومن أصاب من ذٰلك شيئا فعوقب فى الدنيا فهو كفارة له ومن أصاب من ذٰلك شيئا ثم ستره الله فهو إلى الله إن شاء عفا عنه وإن شاء عاقبه فبايعناه على ذٰلك
“Give me your pledge that you will not associate anything with Allah, will not steal, will not commit adultery, will not kill your children, will not falsely accuse anyone knowingly, and will not disobey me in what is good. Whoever fulfills this covenant among you, his reward is with Allah. And whoever commits any of these acts and is punished by the Islamic legal punishments in this world, that will be an expiation for him. And whoever commits any of these acts and Allah conceals it, then it is up to Allah whether to forgive him or punish him. We have taken your pledge on this.”
This hadith explicitly indicates that if a person commits a forbidden act like adultery and it remains concealed without reaching the ruler’s court, then the matter is left to Allah, and no hudood punishment is applied. If someone else finds out, they should also conceal it and forgive. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As (may Allah be pleased with them) states that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
تعافوا الحدود فيما بينكم فما بلغني من حد فقد وجب
“Forgive the hudood among yourselves; whatever hudood reaches me becomes obligatory.”
From this hadith, it is understood that hudood which does not reach the judge or ruler is not obligatory. Imam Abu Dawood titled this hadith: يعفى عن الحدود ما لم تبلغ السلطان “Forgiving hudood that does not reach the Sultan.” If the case does not reach the judge, hudood is not obligatory on that person. His marriage can only be valid after repentance. When both repent sincerely, Ata bin Abi Rabah states:
كان ابن عباس يقول فى الرجل يزني بالمرأة ثم يريد نكاحها قال أول أمرها سفاح وآخره نكاح
“Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said about a man who commits adultery with a woman and then intends to marry her: his first act is fornication and adultery, and the second is marriage.”
Sayyiduna Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) states: “Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said about a man who commits adultery with a woman and then intends to marry her: when both repent, he can marry her; the first act was fornication, which was forbidden, and the second is marriage, which is lawful.”
Imam Ibn Kathir writes in the Tafsir of Surah An-Nur, verse (3):
فأما إذا حصلت توبة فإنه يحل التزوج
“When repentance is made, marriage becomes lawful.”
Then, as evidence, he quotes the fatwa of Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), who was asked:
إني كنت ألعب بامرأة أتى منها ما حرم الله عز وجل على فرزق الله عز وجل من ذٰلك توبة فأردت أن أتزوجها فقال أناسق إن الزاني لا ينكح إلا زانية أو مشركة فقال ابن عباس ليس هٰذا فى هٰذا إنكحها فما كان من إثم فعلي
“I used to commit unlawful acts with a woman, then Allah granted me the ability to repent. Now I intend to marry her, but people say that a fornicator man can only marry a fornicator or polytheist woman.” Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “This is not the case; marry her. If she has committed sin, it is upon me.”
Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) says the same:
لا بأس بذٰلك أول أمرها زنا حرام وآخره حلال
“There is no harm in this; the first act was unlawful fornication, and the second is lawful.”
Imam Zahri and Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on them) also hold the same opinion.
Imam Tawus says:
إذا فجر الرجل بالمرأة فهو أحق بها من غيره وإذا زنى الرجل بالمرأة فعوقبت ينكحها إن شاء فإذا تابا حل له نكاحها
“When a man commits fornication with a woman, he has more right to her than another man. If a man commits adultery with a woman and is flogged, then if he wishes, he may marry her. When both repent, marriage becomes lawful for the man with that woman.”
Among the Hanafi jurists, marriage with a fornicator woman is also permissible. Sahib Hidayah writes:
وإن تزوج حاملا من زنا حل النكاح
“Even if she is pregnant from fornication, marriage with her is permissible.”
Imam Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi states:
وإذا وجد الشرطان حل نكاحها للزاني وغيره فى قول أكثر أهل العلم منهم أبو بكر وعمر وابنه وابن عباس وجابر وسعيد بن المسيب وطاوس وجابر بن زيد وعطاء والحسن وعكرمة والزهري والشافعي وابن المنذر وأصحاب الرأي
“And when both conditions (completion of ‘iddah and repentance) are met, according to most scholars, marriage with the fornicator or others is lawful. Among them are Abu Bakr, Umar, Abdullah bin Umar, Ibn Abbas, Jabir (may Allah be pleased with them), Saeed bin Al-Musayyib, Tawus, Jabir bin Zaid, Ata, Hasan Al-Basri, Ikrimah, Zahri, Shafi’i, Ibn Al-Mundhir, and the people of opinion.”
From the above evidences, the fatwas of jurists, muhaddithin, and Islamic scholars, it is clear that when a fornicator man and fornicator woman repent, their marriage afterward is valid. If the woman is pregnant from fornication, she must complete the waiting period (‘iddah) of pregnancy before marriage, because marriage during ‘iddah is not valid. Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَأُولَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ﴾
“And those who are pregnant, their waiting period is until they deliver their burdens.”
And elsewhere Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ الْكِتَابُ أَجَلَهُ﴾
“And do not make a contract of marriage with them until the waiting period is completed.”
Imam Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وقد أجمع العلماء على أنه لا يصح العقد فى مدة العدة
“There is consensus among scholars that marriage contract during the waiting period (‘iddah) is not valid.”
