And if they disbelieve, or one of them does so after consummation, the matter is suspended until the completion of the waiting period, and before that it is invalid.

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "And if they disbelieve, or one of them does so after consummation, the matter is suspended until the completion of the waiting period, and before that it is invalid". If they disbelieve after consummation, the matter is suspended until the completion of the waiting period, even if their disbelief occurred at the same time, or even if they turned to the same religion, such as becoming Christians after Islam. What if it was before consummation? The contract is invalid. If it was after consummation, the matter is suspended until the completion of the waiting period. Pay attention, everyone: this means after the contract, when they were Muslims, if both disbelieved, or one of them did so later than the other, if it was before consummation, the marriage is invalid. An example of this is Zayd and Zaynab, who were Muslims; he contracted marriage with her, and then afterwards they disbelieved—may Allah protect us from that. If they disbelieved before consummation, the ruling is that the marriage is invalid. Now, if they were disbelievers from the start and then one of them married the other, is the marriage invalid? No, it is not invalid. The difference is clear, because these two spouses apostatized after the contract, whereas if they were disbelievers from the start, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted the marriages of those who embraced Islam, and there is no doubt in that. If they disbelieved before consummation, what happens to the marriage? It is invalid, whether they both disbelieved at the same time or one of them did so later. If a man marries a woman and they are both Muslims, and then they both abandon prayer, what happens to the marriage? It becomes invalid because they disbelieved after the contract. If the husband abandons prayer, what is the ruling for the husband? ... Now, if the wife disbelieves, the contract is likewise invalid. So, if it was before consummation and both disbelieved, or one of them disbelieved, the contract is invalid. After consummation, what happens? The matter is suspended until the completion of the waiting period. If they return to Islam, they remain in their marriage because they contracted it as Muslims and returned to Islam. If the waiting period ends and they are still disbelievers, it becomes clear that it was invalid from the time they disbelieved—may Allah protect us from that. This is the ruling regarding disbelief. Accordingly, if a woman has been with her husband for decades and they have sons and daughters, and then the husband abandons prayer, it is obligatory to separate them and wait until when? Until the completion of the waiting period. If Allah guides him and he returns to prayer, she is his wife. If the waiting period ends and he does not pray, they are separated, meaning it becomes clear that the marriage was invalid from the time he abandoned prayer. Likewise, if she abandons prayer, because sometimes the husband abandons it and sometimes it is she who abandons it, so the ruling is the same: wait until the waiting period ends. If Allah guides her and she returns to Islam and prays, she is his wife; otherwise, it becomes clear that it dissolved from the time she disbelieved.