I married a man who did not pray, and after a period of time he began to pray. What is the ruling on the marriage contract?

The questioner : Honorable Shaykh, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. I am a woman who has been married for… He was good because you are a man. I know. She is a woman who has been married for about six years. She married a man who did not pray, and I did not know about it, and she did not know about it either. With the passing of the years, he began to pray at home, and praise be to Allah. Then, now, praise be to Allah, he prays with the congregation by the grace of Allah and His praise. So what is the ruling on the marriage contract? May Allah reward you with good. Is it valid or not?

The Shaykh : I say: Praise be to Allah who guided him, and I ask Allah for steadfastness for me and for him. But he must now, before he stays with his wife tonight, renew the contract. It is not required to renew the contract with the mu’adhdhin, meaning, if he is present now and the woman’s guardian is present, Shaykh Abdullah is ready to perform the marriage contract for them, is he not?

The questioner : What, what, what, I am ready.

The Shaykh : I am ready. May Allah reward you with good. The important thing is that he does not come to his wife tonight until he has renewed the contract, because the first contract is not valid. So he must renew the contract. And as I told you, Shaykh Abdullah ibn Musta’id, and I will be a witness, and the mu’adhdhin will be the second witness, and the matter is settled.