Date : 03-03-2009

Question :

Being overwhelmed with rage, my wife reviled Allah, Allah Forbid. Does this act take her out of the fold of Islam? Has our marriage contract been invalidated?, and should I divorce her? Kindly guide me to do what`s right, may Allah Reward you?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.



Reviling Allah, Allah Forbid, nullifies Islam and takes a person out of its fold. Therefore, if it was proven that your wife has reviled Allah, Allah Forbid, then she committed apostasy. Consequently, she must immediately turn to Allah in sincere repentance, frequently ask Him for forgiveness, and profess the two testimonies of faith (i.e. I testify that none is truly worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah). As regards the ruling on the marriage contract of an apostate, Shafie scholars are of the view that it is tied with reverting to Islam. Therefore, if he reverted before the end of Iddah  (Waiting period due to divorce or death of husband), then the original contract maintains its validity, but if he didn`t, but later on repented and re-embraced Islam and wanted to return his wife, then he must conclude a new marriage contract along with a new bridal gift (Mahr).



However, if reviling Allah took place before the consummation of the marriage, then the marriage contract is directly dissolved and must be renewed because this act of Kufr rendered it invalid. Since there is no Iddah (Waiting period), then this is Talaq ba`en baynona Soghra , so the marriage contract must be renewed to make her lawful to him. In addition, it is imperative to visit the Iftaa` Department and the Sharia court to know the ruling regarding your marriage contract.



We (Iftaa` Board) advise the above questioner to be kind to his wife, not to divorce her, but remind her of Allah`s severe punishment. We also suggest that he avoids disputing with her in case she turned to Allah in sincere repentance and re-embraced Islam. However, if she repeated that act, then he is allowed to divorce her, but it is preferable that he checks with the Iftaa` Department first. And Allah Knows Best.