A committed young woman is proposed to by a man who does not pray, and she agrees to marry him claiming she will improve his situation and make him a praying, committed person; what is the ruling on her opinion?
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The questioner : The sister from Yemen, in her second question, mentions that she is a committed young woman to whom a man who wants to marry her has proposed, but he does not pray. She agreed to marry him because she says she will fix his affairs and make him a young man who prays and commits to the matters of his religion. Is her opinion correct, O honorable Shaykh? And is it permissible for her to agree to this husband? She asks for your advice and guidance.
The Shaykh : Her opinion is not correct; rather, it is invalid, because one who does not pray is a disbeliever and an apostate. It is not permissible for anyone to marry him, even if someone were to say that perhaps he will improve in the future.
We say: The knowledge of the future is with Allah. He may influence his upright wife and cause her to deviate. In any case, we have only what is before us. If the man does not pray, it is not permissible for anyone to marry his daughter to him.
And so we say to this woman: Do not marry this man, no matter what, and do not assume that you will fix him later, because we have only what is before us, and the future is with Allah.
Furthermore, this possibility is met by another possibility, which is that it may lead to the deviation of the upright woman.
Here is a small note: I would like people to describe a man who is upright in his religion as "upright" (mustaqim) rather than "committed" (mutazam), because this is what came in the Qur'an, as He, Mighty and Majestic, said:[Fussilat 41:30], and it did not say "then they committed." Describing religious devotion as "upright" is more in accordance with the Qur'an than the word "committed." However, "committed" has another meaning in the jurisprudence of the scholars, distinct from uprightness in religion, as is known in the rulings concerning the People of the Book and others. The important point is that I would like people to replace the word "committed" with "upright," because it is the term used in the Qur'an. Yes.
The Shaykh : Her opinion is not correct; rather, it is invalid, because one who does not pray is a disbeliever and an apostate. It is not permissible for anyone to marry him, even if someone were to say that perhaps he will improve in the future.
We say: The knowledge of the future is with Allah. He may influence his upright wife and cause her to deviate. In any case, we have only what is before us. If the man does not pray, it is not permissible for anyone to marry his daughter to him.
And so we say to this woman: Do not marry this man, no matter what, and do not assume that you will fix him later, because we have only what is before us, and the future is with Allah.
Furthermore, this possibility is met by another possibility, which is that it may lead to the deviation of the upright woman.
Here is a small note: I would like people to describe a man who is upright in his religion as "upright" (mustaqim) rather than "committed" (mutazam), because this is what came in the Qur'an, as He, Mighty and Majestic, said: