❖ Ruling:
When a disbeliever accepts Islam, only that marriage from his previous life is retained which conforms to Islamic marital law. Any marriage contradicting Sharʿī rulings is annulled.
❖ Evidence from Hadith:
◈ Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Fīrūz narrates from his father:
"When I accepted Islam, I had two wives who were sisters. The Prophet ﷺ commanded me to divorce one of them."
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1962, 2243; Tirmidhī: 1130; Ibn Mājah: 1951; Musnad Aḥmad: 4/232; Ibn Ḥibbān: 4155; Dāraqutnī: 3/273; Bayhaqī: 7/184✔ Grading: Ḥasan
❖ Legal Implications:
If a man embraces Islam and has married two sisters, Islam prohibits such a union. Hence, he is required to divorce one of them. The fact that the Prophet ﷺ allowed him to retain one of those marriages, even though it was contracted during disbelief, proves that such a Nikah was valid in origin if it does not contradict Sharīʿah.❖ Juristic Views:
◈ Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and Imām Aḥmad:
— Hold that if a disbeliever accepts Islam, the marriage done in disbelief remains valid as long as it does not contradict Islamic law (e.g., marrying two sisters, exceeding four wives, etc.)
◈ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf:
— Say: If a disbeliever had married two sisters, the second Nikah is void, and he must separate from the second one.
— Similarly, if he had five wives, the last one must be separated from, as that Nikah is invalid from the start.
Their interpretation is that the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction referred to choosing which valid wife to keep at the time of Islam, not that both Nikahs were originally valid.
Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 3/1508, al-Mughnī: 10/14, al-Umm: 5/49, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/66❖ Opinion of Scholars:
✔ Imām al-Shawkānī sides with the first group (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī), affirming their view as apparent and stronger.
Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/243✔ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) also refutes the Ḥanafī view, supporting the position of Imām Mālik and others.
Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/349❖ Conclusion:
✔ If a non-Muslim embraces Islam, his marriages conducted during disbelief are evaluated based on Islamic principles:
➤ Permissible configuration (e.g., one wife, or multiple wives not exceeding four, not related in a prohibited way):
→ Marriage is retained
➤ Impermissible configuration (e.g., marrying two sisters, having five wives):
→ Excess or invalid marriage is annulled, and the rest are retained accordingly
This ruling is based on the practice of the Prophet ﷺ, affirmed by sound ḥadīth, and supported by strong juristic consensus from leading scholars.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
